Subject: Edward Elric
by mrawgirl09
Summary: Summary is not story, but PLASE READ. I love Edward Elric. I love seeing him suffer. I laugh when he rants, I laugh when he cries, and I laugh when he is killed. Series of deadly oneshots. /Chp 8: Dream/ Disclaimer: NOT MINE, except for story.
1. Milk

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 1: Milk**

* * *

It was a bright, sunny day in Central Headquarters. The lower ranked officers would run around delivering messages and documents to the higher-ups, while the higher ranked officers signed away their names on said documents to be sent away again in due time.

Colonel Roy Mustang's office was not an exception. Well, maybe.

The lieutenants, warrant officer, and sergeant were lounging in the office, pretending to be working for the eyes of the other military officers that occasionally entered the room to deliver paper works, in stead of Riza Hawkeye, who had only sent Black Hayate with a message that she would be staying at home because of a sickness.

With the absence of the only woman and the only _working_ officer in the room to keep them on their toes, the men in the office were bored out of their wits. And, as a way to relieve themselves from their boredom, they have started doing what every sensible military man did to pass his time (productively, of course): gossip. And gossip they did, until their random talk lead to another, and to another, until they arrived at their second boss; Edward Elric, and his nemesis, Milk.

"Why does he hate that, anyways?" said Havoc, trying to light another cigarette.

"He says that it's because it's been 'secreted' from a living thing." Answered Breda, as he played with his pen instead of using it to fill out the documents in front of him. "No one would want to drink it if he puts it that way."

Fuery, the only one who was actually working when he pretended to, spoke up. "I guess then it's just a way of seeing things," he paused momentarily, "but seriously, I heard that Ed doesn't drink milk because if makes him act strange."

Breda and Havoc's eyes twinkled as they picked up on the magic word. "How strange?"

"Strange, as in the way you act when you've drank about 5 galleons of alcohol."

Both lieutenants lost their twinkle as they leant back on their chair again. "No way, milk doesn't do that to you," said Breda, and Havoc continued. "Besides, Ed just doesn't like milk, not something like allergic to it."

"That's another thing," Fuery continued, looking absolutely serious. "People say that he hates milk because he gets all puffy when he gets it on his skin."

Falman joined the conversation. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"I have no idea, but anything's possible with Boss." Said Jean, leaning back, cigarette not falling from his mouth. Everyone else looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "What? You've never dumped him with milk!"

At that moment Colonel Roy Mustang came out from his inner office, and stopped and stared as he heard the last sentence.

"What are we talking about? Dump who with what?"

Breda half-saluted the colonel and sat up. "Hey Chief. Have you finished your paperwork yet?"

"Hell no," smirked Roy, as he indicated the handful of ash in his ashtray. "So what are you talking about?"

"Dumping Boss with milk."

"Hah! That would be funny," said Roy, his smirk getting more wicked, as he thought about the short-tempered shrimp. "He'd freak out and start a killing spree." He started chuckling to himself until he realized that his subordinates were looking at him weirdly. He coughed. "What brought that up?"

"Well, Chief, you know that Boss hates milk, right?" Havoc looked at Roy as he started explaining the idea, with the cigarette still in his mouth. Roy nodded. "You also know that he keeps saying that he'd never get close to a bottle with a ten - feet pole?" Roy nodded again.

"So we're just talking about why he keeps away from it so much," Breda continued, crossing his fingers. "I mean, _no one_ hates milk like he does."

Roy put his hand on his chin, mulling over the thought. "So… you think he's hiding something?"

"Yup. Probably something embarrassing," grinned Breda, "Or unusual."

"Like he starts burping bubbles." Suggested Fuery, chuckling.

"Or his face swells." Breda laughed.

"Or he starts sweating milk." Added Falman.

"Or he starts lapping up like it's honey." Said Havoc, laughing with the crowd.

Everyone stared at him again.

"What?"

Roy nodded, as he frowned in thought. "That… actually makes some sense." He said, his eyes getting a malicious gleam that Havoc decided that he didn't want anything to do with it.

"What?" Havoc repeated.

"See, what if he hates it because he loves it?" Roy explained. Everyone seemed to get the idea, as they 'aah'ed almost instantly, except for Havoc, who seemed to have his brain stopped in shock. He repeated again.

"What?"

Scowling, Roy turned directly towards Havoc as he explained his theory step by step. "He loves stew. Stew is made from two bottles of milk per serving," here he paused to watch Havoc's face. There was still no recognition. "He's short, and if he loves milk, he'll have to acknowledge that he's born short, and probably live the rest of his life short."

"Ah!!"

"So he keeps saying that he hates milk, and because of that people will assume that he's short because he hates milk!"

Breda grinned as he thought about the possibility. It was perfect! "So… if we provide him an opportunity -" his voice faded, and Falman took the sentence, completing it. "- he'll pretend that he hates it, but actually love it?" Mustang looked victorious, as he stood next to the desks with a smug smirk. Havoc mulled over the conclusion, and unconsciously spit out a dangerous word. "… Bull shit."

"What?" Mustang's voice turned dark. Thankfully, Havoc noticed.

"I-I mean, I don't think he would actually *love* it if we were to dump milk in his mouth or something." Mustang's face didn't lighten, but his scowl turned into a mischievous grin that sent a shiver down Havoc's spine. "Is that a bet?"

"Wha?"

Mustang walked over to Havoc's desk, slammed down a pack of money as he exclaimed, "I bet 550 cenz that he actually loves milk but hides it, just because he's short and too short-tempered to admit it."

"But-" Havoc paled.

"I agree with Chief, Havoc," added Breda, as he stood up and slammed down his pile of money on Havoc's desk. "And I bet 200 cenz on it, too!"

"I-" Havoc paled further as he tried to get away from the desk. He didn't even got out of his chair; however, as Mustang was holding the chair in so tightly that he thought he heard the wood splintering. He was doomed.

Fuery rose up, as he tried to defend Havoc. "But I'm sure Ed really doesn't like milk because he has some other, perfectly reasonable reason!!"

"So bet on it!" Exclaimed Breda and Mustang together. "Besides, if doesn't even make sense! He hates milk, but I don't see him complaining about hot chocolate, stew, or ice cream!"

"But I-" Havoc was ignored.

Fuery, true to his name suggests, exclaimed in fury. "Fine! 250 cenz! Falman!" he called upon the Warrant Officer.

"Guys-" Falman cut him again, as if he didn't hear the man. "150, against." Fuery yelled, "Too small!"

"200, no more."

"Deal!" Falman got up, placed his pack of money on Havoc's desk, and stepped away as the soldiers glared down at the man. Havoc was sweating bullets in his seat, unable to get away. "But I-" The glares got more intense, and Havoc secretly swore that he could feel a murderous gleam in Fuery's eyes. He sighed and bet all he had left in his wallet.

"320 cenz."

"Alright!" whooped Breda, and scooped the money up and piled them on Hawkeye's empty desk. Mustang smirked again and turned to the pale Havoc.

"Havoc, go get a bucket of milk."

The man called turned his head so fast that some heard his neck crack.

"A bucket?!" Mustang ignored the indignant yelp as he gave instructions to Fuery, Falman and Breda to hold on to Edward while he, bravely, poured milk down Ed's throat. After the instructions, he gave a small dismissive wave to Havoc to fetch the milk, and turned to Breda to get the Elric.

"He won't drink it!" Yelled Havoc, desperately trying to get out of the bet.

"So we'll make him." Said Mustang ever so simply, flashing his ever-so-innocent smile.

"He _wont_! And why do I have to go, when it's you guys who wanted to do the bet?!"

"Stop complaining, Havoc, or you forfeit your 320 and 500 additional senz." Said Mustang, as he turned his midnight black eyes towards Havoc's sky blue ones. "Besides, you pointed it out." Havoc's jaw almost dropped to the floor, but the man recovered and stumbled out the office, miserably looking for the Mess Hall kitchen.

* * *

Edward Elric stepped into what it seemed like was an empty office. Mustang was standing, leaning on the door to his office, with a suspicious looking bucket next to him, with a lid on top. Edward subconsciously rubbed at the itch near the area where the damn bee got him, trying to look natural. He felt his arm swell. Not good.

Edward made a noise, desperate to get the talk with the bastard over and done with so he could go to his dorm and sleep the itch off. Sleep cured everything.

"Hey, bastard. What do you wa-" Ed didn't get to finish his sentence, as Mustang yelled suddenly, "Get him!"

"Wha!?" Edward looked back, as he saw Breda, Falman and Fuery latch onto his automail arm, flesh arm and both legs respectively, and he stumbled back, tripping over Fuery and falling on his butt. All the while the three didn't let go.

"Getof-glurck!" Edward didn't have a chance to say anything as Mustang poured the content into his open mouth, dumping the whole content through a small opening in the lid. His mind froze at the smell, the taste of the liquid pouring into his mouth: milk.

He started thrashing, trying to get out of the three man's hold, as he felt the hated substance dribble down his chin, around his cheek, and to his horror, up his nose. He couldn't breathe, and Mustang kept pouring the cow juice into his mouth, his survival instincts to swallow the obstacle away.

He thrashed harder, and somehow managed to kick his right feet out of Fuery's arms, kick Mustang's shin, and kick back at Fuery's shoulder. The other two released immediately, retreating to the corner where Havoc was trying to hide, trembling in fear as he waited for Ed's wrath to reach him. Edward immediately started vomiting, white liquid pouring out, tinted green with stomach acid.

"Whoah!" grimaced Breda, as he saw a good litre of the milk pour out of the boy's mouth. Edward kept gagging, but the rest didn't come out. Edward kept coughing and gagging, his eyes straining with tears.

"Koff-cack! What- cough- hack! Koff – Urgh!" Ed finally stopped in his coughing, as he glared daggers at the men, huddled in the corner. His eyes found Mustang. "Why you!!" Edward lunged towards the corner, his hands outstretched like claws of a cat.

"Run for your lives!" Mustang yelled, running away from the hands, just escaping narrowly the death sentence.

"Yes SIR!" The men replied as they shot out of Ed's way as well, not wanting to die this early in their lives. Edward couldn't stop in time to avoid the meeting with the east wall, and slammed into it with a resounding BAM.

Edward kept coughing and sputtering, and stumbled towards the now grinning officers. He tried to stop himself from vomiting again, but his throat convulsed, accidentally letting out a loud burp.

Fuery blinked, as he stopped trying to move towards the exit and stared at the boy.

"Did he just-?"

He didn't get to finish the sentence, however, as the men saw Edward's face start swelling up like a balloon, starting from the cheeks. "Bleargh! Uh… uhh… " the officers started to laugh at the swelling shrimp, who was turning very red and very puffy.

"He does swell!" Cackled Breda, as he swiped a stray tear from the laughter.

Mustang was doubling over in laughter, as well. He got up again, laughing, and turned to Havoc, who was laughing as well, despite his previous reluctance. "Hahahah! I guess you win, Havoc!"

"Hey, is that …" sniffed Havoc, and said "snot?" before doubling over again in laughter.

In front of them, Edward had started to grope at his face, looking like he was trying to scratch out his eyes. His groans and yelps turned into guttural sounds, and his yells sounded tighter as his throat clenched in swollen muscles.

"Hahaheh… uhh… guys…?" said Havoc, the first to notice that the boy was not sounding like he had been before being fed all the milk.

Mustang stopped laughing as well, when he heard how Edward's coughs had become … wetter. The boy kept coughing, harder and harder, as if he was trying forcibly to dislodge something that was stuck in his throat.

"He… doesn't sound so well-"

Edward went into another coughing fit, stumbled back and dropped through the open doorway to Mustang's office, coughing up greenish slimes on the polished wood in the inner office.

"Argh! Gross! Is that mucus on my floor?!" shouted Mustang as he walked towards his office. He didn't dare get too close to the boy yet. "You'd better be able to clean that up, Full Metal!"

Havoc ventured into the office, and crouched next to Edward. "Ahh… Chief?" He tried to get Ed's hands away from his face, and called to his superior officer again. "His eyes are getting red…" He then proceeded to remove Ed's red and black jacket, as Edward seemed to try to rip them into pieces. Upon seeing the red rashes on Ed's arm, he pointed out the obvious. "Actually he's getting red all over…"

Edward seemed to open his mouth to yell something again, only to bend over again in a coughing fit. His mouth started dribbling in some unidentified liquid, and his eyes squint shut. His face showed clearly the pain, but no one was brave enough to approach the convulsing body.

"H-Hey Chief-" Havoc tried to get a hold of the boy, and his uniform got caught by the automail hand that was attached to the boy who was coughing a pair of lungs out.

Edward kept coughing, choking on his breath. After another great choke on air, Ed made a thick, gurgling sound, and his eyes opened a crack, showing red, sour eyes with dimmed amber pools. His head hung, and the automail became limp. By the time Ed's bangs touched the floor, everyone in the office was running towards the limp boy.

"Wha-woah Chief!" Breda took Edward from Havoc, and started slapping Ed's swollen cheek.

Mustang was snapped out of his shocked state as well. "What the- Full Metal!" He dashed next to Ed's side, crouching and moving his hand to Ed's nose. Mustang's mind froze over as his hand felt nothing.

"He isn't breathing!" The men started panicking.

"Do something!" Havoc was almost in hysterics. Mutang growled and pushed Breda out of the way. "Move!"

The Colonel positioned himself behind the limp boy and started doing what he remembered in his compulsory First Aid class in the academy. He wrapped his arms around the boy's waist and did the Heimlich maneuver, trying to get the boy to cough up the mucus that seemed to have blocked his trachea.

With a strong thrust, Edward coughed up a huge pile of goo and gasped in the precious air. "Cough! GASP!!" Mustang didn't let go of the boy, and in stead turned to Falman, who was the closest to his desk. "He's breathing again! Get an ambulance!"

Edward kept coughing up mucus, and his seizures were wasting him the precious little oxygen he could get in his system.

"Keep breathing Full Metal!" Mustang yelled as he felt the boy spasm and become limp again.

"Ed! Edward!" Mustang restarted the Heimlich maneuver but the boy didn't wake up.

"Ed!"

* * *

In the silent hall outside Ed's room, 5 military officers were sitting on the plastic benches, looking down at their feet, each feeling very, very miserable. They saw Alphonse getting out of the room, and crowded the armor.

"So… what's up with Boss?" Asked Havoc, fearing for the worst.

"Brother is… he…" Alphonse stumbled with his words for a few minutes, and then blurted out, "He's in a coma."

"What?!" the other five exclaimed. Mustang recovered and grabbed onto the chest plate of the armor. "I know about allergies, Alphonse! Food Allergies do not resort to coma! They are not even supposed to get to respirational problems!"

Al's red light dimmed. "He… We were playing with Elicia in the park… and he was stung by a bee that the doctors say he's allergic to before he came to HQ…" Mustang's face turned ashen, and Alphonse continued, still not looking at any of the officers, "and it turns out he was … allergic to milk… as well. They… the reactions got kind of constipated… and the bee venom and the lactase troubled his respiratory system… and it stopped the oxygen regulation to his brain for too long and… and…"

Havoc felt his legs about to give out, and leant onto the wall for support. He just felt so… guilty. About everything. He barely noticed Fuery stumble away from the door, get back to the seats and plop down, face in hands. Breda's face had turned white, and Falman's had darkened.

Mustang, on the other hand, was looking the worst. His eyes lost their usual gleam, and his face was pasty white with worry. He moved his hand away from Al's armor to rake his hair out of his eyes. "Wha… Why didn't you guys tell us?!"

Al kept his voice quiet, but the militants could hear the boy's voice and soul breaking. And it _hurt_. "I didn't know… I don't think Ed knew… I think Ed only knew about the milk…" Al's hands formed into fists, and released. "Ed never drank milk in front of me… He never drank milk… ever. Not even when … mother… was alive. I didn't know… I just … since he could eat stew without problems … I'm … we're sorry."

Mustang looked down to his boots. His mind was frozen, most part of it constantly wailing for his long lost friend, Hughes. He didn't look up, but put up a hand to stop the boy's apology. "Don't be. We're sorry. We didn't… We shouldn't have…"

Al didn't reply, and turned and went back inside the room, closing the door with a small 'click'. Breda, supported by Falman, moved away, towards the plastic chairs where Fuery could be heard almost sobbing. Mustang didn't move. Havoc picked the toothpick that he used for hospitals out of his mouth and glanced sadly at Mustang.

"Heh…" Havoc gave out a laugh that sounded dead. "We seriously fucked up this time, Chief."

He dropped the toothpick, wondering just how a boring day at the office turned out so tragic.

* * *

**AN: *Evil cackle* And so begins Subject: Edward Elric. BD I've had this idea since forever, and I've been keep having this sort of way of thinking as I read other people's fanfiction… I just needed to vent. And vent I did. I probably will be continuing this without a set regime, cause inspiration comes and goes.**

**It'll be rated T for now, until I decide to write something gorier. It will mostly depend on how my brain works at which time, but I would accept suggestions, as long as they trigger something. I might go around in reviews of other fanfictions about asking for permission to use some ideas and twisting them, too.**

**I don't think there is any pairing, though Havoc's reaction seems to be a bit… off. D| Too protective, too shocked… But it's not. Though I'd love to be. But that is not the point. They'd be like brothers in this story, at most.**

**But anyways.**

**R&R, plz. Flamers will be destroyed by Deception, my alter ego in FMA.**

**Mrawgirl09**


	2. Love

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 2 (Part 1): Love**

* * *

Two blondes, one male and one female, were walking down the famous shopping centre of Rush Valley.

Winry darted from one side to another, squealing in delight as she saw the newest models of automails, tool sets, and dresses.

Edward seemed to ignore her as he trudged on, feet falling into rhythmical off-beats, one light and one heavy. Suddenly, Winry turned to her companion and smacked a wrench into Ed's head. He promptly fell face-first into the ground, even sliding on his face for a few inches.

"Ow!" The shorter blonde exclaimed from the ground, clutching at his head. "What did you do that for, Winry!?" He looked at the other blonde, now identified as Winry, who was frowning and puffing air out her nostrils, with a wrench in her right hand.

"I told you to stop sulking, Ed! Al told you before he- he went away to not sulk after him!" Yelled the woman into the man's ear. Ed, who had turned his head from the yelling woman to avoid losing his hearing, yelled back, "I wasn't sulking!", earning himself another whack of the wrench to the head. "Stupid automail junkie…"

Winry's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "What was that, _Shrimp_?!"

Ed popped a vein somewhere in his forehead, and yelled for the world to hear. "I'm NOT A SHRIMP!!!"

The woman scoffed, flipped a hand in an overly-snobbish way, and said: "Whatever, automail geek- OH my GOD!!!" Her insult was cut short when her eyes caught on another object at a random automail shop. Her eyes started sparking and tearing up, Winry latched herself onto the window of the shop. "Oh my god! Edward, you HAVE to buy me this new tool set!!!"

The man, getting up from his previous face-crash, approached the excited woman with a frown. "You already have-" he started, but Winry turned abruptly, her eyes still sparkling with excitement. Her hands gripped onto Edward's, making the man blush almost unnoticeably.

"I don't care! LOOK! This even has a hand-drill!!!" She pointed at the colorful tool box, more specifically at the red-ish pink mini-drill.

Winry had opened an automail shop of her own recently, which she prized more than her own life. Not surprisingly, her automail shop became the most popular in the town of Rush Valley, enough to be titled, after only three months from opening, the best automail shop in all of Amestris, to provide automail for injured soldiers in the Amestrian military. And _obviously_, though Edward didn't, she needed more tools than the usual shops.

Edward was about to speak his opinion on her having a fourth drill, but she interrupted with a barrage of additions. "AND a hand saw!! AND seven different types of wrenches!! AND an oiling pipette! With a whole bottle of top-quality oil!! AND -" Edward let up a hand to stop Winry's overexcited blabber of information that was useless to him.

"Woah, Winry. You have all of those at your house in Risembool. Why don't you go and get them?" asked Edward, scratching below his pony tail.

"Because they're Granny's." Said Winry, flapping her hand as if it was not important. Then she turned on her puppy-dog eyes. "Besides, Ed, these are _color-schemed_!!!!" she ended with a hand poised towards the now pink-sparkling toolbox.

Edward was not impressed.

"… and I should buy it _why_ - ?"

"Because you love me?" said Winry, posing herself very sexily with big, shining eyes and pouty lips. Edward stumbled back in shock, a light blush noticeably covering his face. Winry didn't wait for her wall-ahem- _friend_ to reply as she ran into the shop yelling: "I knew it! Let's go!!"

Edward stood unmoving, as he heard the doorbell jingle. He stood there for another minute, his unusually slow mind processing the information that just went through. He sighed, putting his hand under his bangs to rub at his eyebrows. His whole head felt red, his frame now stiff and awkward alone in the street, earning embarrassing stares from the people around him. He didn't like his day so far, and he knew that the worst part was that the woman didn't know what she did to him.

"Stupid automail junkie…" muttered Edward and entered the shop after Winry.

* * *

"She does like dogs …" thought Edward, as he looked at a gothic-disfigured statue of a humanoid dog holding out a glass sword. Spikes grew out of every place of its body, making it look somewhat like a porcupine. Its eyes were replaced by small rubies, enhancing the cruel look the statue had.

Edward liked the statue and its dangerously sharp beauty. It looked like what he'd transmute if he were to think up of a statue in his front yard. It would definitely give a warning to intruders. He wondered briefly if Winry would accept this. Perhaps he should wrap it?

Winry's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ed! What are you doing? Come over here! You have to pay!!"

"Uh, yeah!" He replied, hiding the small statue behind his back, shoving it into a large pouch of his coat. The transmuted secret pouch was handy when he was hiding objects from prying people.

He walked up to the cashier, paid the toolbox (which, to his surprise and a little joy, looked like a large gothic jewelry box) and gave the wallet to Winry. "Here, Win. Could you get us some ice cream? Let's go to the park. I'll meet you there after I buy something." She frowned, searching his face for a minute, then nodded with uncertainty.

"Okay…" Winry picked up the bag, casting another look at the man, and exited the shop.

Edward kept his place next to the cashier, smiling as Winry constantly looked back at his face, her hands holding his wallet like it was about to sprout legs and run off. Ed snickered at the thought. After about 5 minutes after Winry's departure, Edward turned to the cashier, pulled out the statue and put it on the table, glaring at the man as if he was daring the shopkeeper to challenge him about stealing.

* * *

Both blondes were sitting silently at a bench at a park. The sun was shining bright, though the clouds nearby threatened rainfall. The children were still running around the park, along with a few cats and dogs chasing each other, and their mothers, fathers, or both parents were chatting among themselves nearby. It was a normal day.

"So, what do you need to tell me?" said Winry, out of the blue.

"I-what?" Edward choked on his chocolate ice cream, smearing the rest on the cone onto his cheek. Winry snorted at this, reached with her napkin to wipe off the melting cream off the red-faced man.

"Oh come on, Ed, I'm not stupid." She turned her body slightly so that she was leaning towards Edward, urging him to answer her question. "So, what is so important that you actually gave me your wallet?"

Edward was, of course, flabbergasted, opening his mouth and closing it very similarly to a fish.

"Ah… I…" Edward started sweating, his face turning redder by seconds. He closed his eyes, dumped the ruined ice cream cone into the bin next to the bench, and began. "Winry, I … I like you … I mean, I really like – I love you." He reached behind his back, in his secret pouch, to pull out the newly-wrapped statue he had bought.

Edward, not hearing any movement other than his own, cracked open one of his eyes to assess the situation. Winry was still sitting next to him. She had her mouth open like her jaw was about to fall off, her eyes wide as plates and her complexion so pale Ed would have thought she was bleeding to death. Her hand was limp, the ice cream cone dropped to the ground. Not good. He briefly considered putting the present back in his pocket.

"... Ed… I … I'm sorry." Edward's face grew redder when he heard the universal rejection word – Sorry. He felt his heart tighten in hurt, and glared down at his feet. Both his arms and legs felt like iron, and his eyes hurt so much that he thought they would bleed. He didn't dare look at Winry's face for a full minute, and when he did, he regretted it immediately. Ed saw Winry's face paled in worry and apology… or was that pity? "I-"

"Winry!" both blondes turned their heads towards the newcomer. It was a man, a _tall _man, thought Ed with a twang in his chest. He had blonde hair and bangs that came down below his cheek in strands. His eyes were dark blue with an alluring feel, his nose perfectly shaped and placed in the middle of his angular face, and his lips were strong and firm in a frown. He was dressed in white shirt and brown slacks, carrying a strange strap-bag that had an automail foot sticking out.

"Drakey!" Winry shouted. She jumped up the bench, arms wide, as she threw herself into the arms of the man. He twirled her a bit, and let her down. Winry's face was back in her healthy shade, cheeks flushed in the rush of adrenaline.

"Drakey?" Edward asked meekly, his face still red from embarrassment. He was trying to shove the statue back into his back pouch, ignoring the ripping sounds of the wrapping paper that got caught in the edge of his jacket. He was also trying to ignore the itch at his heart, faking a smile, for Winry's sake, at the new man. Yes, for Winry, he ignored the protest of his beating heart.

Winry turned back from the other blonde man towards Edward. "Yes… He-" she started, but the taller man (as he was even taller than Winry by about a head) interrupted her, coming forth with a smile, hand outstretched.

"Hey there, nice to meet you. Drake Walter, Winry's _boyfriend_." Drake emphasized the word, giving a glare saying 'Don't you dare try flirting with my girl' to Edward, unnoticed by Winry. With a wallow of pain, misery and hopelessness that sent his heart plummeting down through his feet to underground, Edward felt a familiar chill go down his spine when he saw the near-black blue eyes, piercing into his soul. What with the dimming light, Drake's eyes seemed almost-

Ed noticed that both Winry and Drake were staring at him and noticed that he didn't give his introduction. Flustered, he reached out with his automail hand, not wanting to feel the man's warmth through his gloves. "Ah- Edward Elric, Win's childhood friend."

Drake's smile widened. "Ah! I heard about you! Fullmetal Alchemist, right?" Edward nodded, his chest almost puffing up in anticipation of hearing the next comment about him being a hero of the- "Military dog. Or should I say _puppy_?" sneered the man, his smile turning into a distasteful grimace.

Edward flinched at the nickname, and growled, approaching the other man with a death glare of his own. "Hey you-" He began, but Winry interrupted him, slapping Drake on the back. "Drake!"

"Sorry, Winry," He apologized, though still glaring at Edward coldly. "You know I don't like the military much, especially ones called 'heroes'."

"Well, get used to it. He's my best friend!" exclaimed Winry. She didn't see the noticeable wince from Edward at the word 'friend'. She didn't see the light in Ed's eyes dim a fraction. She didn't see … his heart contract in pain.

Winry picked up her new tool box, and thrust it to the angry man. "Here, take these and put them next to my work place."

"But-"

"Go!" Winry yelled. Drake grudgingly took the bag and walked towards Winry's shop, constantly looking back, glaring icily at Edward, who glared back with equal animosity.

"Sorry, Ed." Winry apologized, bringing Edward back to earth from his mental black-book-of-people-he-didn't-like, "So you see … I already have a boyfriend … he's really nice, and … he's really into automail like I am! He's actually my assistant … we're already going steady… I didn't think you…"

Ed smiled sadly, "Don't worry, Win… I … I didn't know. Sorry."

They stood awkwardly for a moment that seemed an eternity, until Edward finally spoke up. "Let's go back to the shop, Winry."

"…Are you sure?" said Winry, searching Ed's face for – anything that might result in a fight.

Ed smiled again. "I'll be fine." He unconsciously slid his hand to the back, holding the statue. Winry's face brightened, and held out a hand to Edward, motioning to her shop. Edward hesitated, but soon grabbed onto Winry's hand, and they both walked towards the small house near the edge of the valley.

* * *

By the end of their short walk, Edward had a fractured heart, Winry a somewhat well maintained friendship, and Drake, who was watching them approach from a second-floor window, a nasty scowl.

'Life is good,' thought Winry.

* * *

The port clicked as the plastic slid in. Winry got up, with the two prosthetic metal limbs in her arms.

"Here. I'll make some new updates and you'll have you arm and leg back, let's say … about this evening." She said, leaving the room into her private workshop. Ed could see past the doorframe that she had her new toolbox open next to her drawing board. He smiled, thinking of how she loved it already and then shook his head. He looked around for his blood red coat, only to realize that he'd left it on the couch of the shop, instead of bringing it in the house behind it.

"I'm going to have to stay here all day though. Don't make any noise!" He heard Winry yell from the shop, and soon enough, he heard the loud slam of her door, along with the click of the lock.

"Don't count on it," he muttered. The prosthetic squeaked like the loudest mice he'd ever heard. He got up, unsteadily as he adjusted to the new, lighter leg. His not having an arm was a big inconvenience for his balance, to say the least. He stumbled around for a moment, trying to get used to being armless, until he noticed a figure leaning on the doorframe to the front of the shop. Drake, he remembered. Edward tried to ignore him as he moved towards the couch.

"So you're the 'Ed' I hear so much about." Ed heard him say. He bit down a growl as he spat out, "What's it to you?" He didn't think Winry would like her _client_ to kill her assistant.

He felt his chest tighten at the bitter imagined words. He was okay, Ed decided. This was nothing compared to what Al must have suffered. Ed regretted the thought immediately, as he felt his chest burn with guilt and apology.

Oblivious to the internal struggle of the blond alchemist, Drake approached with a scowl.

"Since obviously I don't like you, and you don't think I'm that hot either, let's make a deal." He grabbed onto the front of Ed's shirt, pulling him above ground so that they were seeing each other's eyes. "You fucking keep away from _my girl_ or-" Ed smirked suddenly, stopping Drake in mid-sentence.

"Threatening me?" Ed slipped out of Drake's grasp and jumped over the taller man, twisting the arm awkwardly. He tried to ignore the tiny voice that giggled cheerfully when he'd heard the pained whimper from the other man. "You haven't heard about me much, have you?"

Drake growled, and turned around quickly, grabbing onto Ed's arm with his other arm, flipping Edward over him, slamming him onto the wooden floor, and then flipping him over so that Ed was lying on his abdomen, all in one motion. Twisting Ed's only arm behind his back, Drake sat on the small alchemist, forcing air out of Ed's lungs.

"Yes I have, and I also know you can't do much without you precious automail." He leant sideways, as far as Ed could hear his breath in his ear. "Keep away from Win or I will maul you so hard you'll start looking like the ugly creature you bought." Edward gasped and twisted his head back to see Drake holding the statue.

"What- How?!"

Drake sneered down at the shocked face. "I saw you hiding it in your coat when I came towards you two. I was curious as to what you were hiding so fast – I thought it was a ring or something-" His eyes widened a fraction, looked back at the statue, at Ed, and back at the statue. Drake's mouth twisted into something that Ed first thought was a smirk, then turned quickly into a furious looking snarl. "You _like_ her, don't you?"

Edward turned his face away, and started to move threateningly, ignoring the pain in his arm. "Fuck you!! Get off me!" Drake didn't move, but looked at the statue again, his face contemplative.

"And you wanted to give that… _thing_ to her?" He laughed, and smirked cruelly down at the struggling blonde. "You're a laugh, Oh 'Hero of the People'."

Ed stopped his struggle for a moment to glare up at Drake. "Fuck you." The man laughed again, and leant down, pushing Ed down with his elbow. "Sorry, not into those kind of things," he got back up, and Ed felt him lean backwards slightly. "however, I am into _these_ kind of things."

Before Edward knew what was going on, he heard a crash. He looked up and saw the broken pieces of the statue. Ed felt his heart crash down as well. He could almost see the broken fragments of his heart merging with those of the statue on the floor.

The dog's eyes were scattered among the small pieces of the remains of the statue. The hand still held the glass sword high.

Edward, angered, threw Drake off him, sending the man towards the table next to them. He ignored the pained growl from the man, and thus didn't see the inhuman kick that sent him crashing on top of the broken statue pieces.

"Argh!!" Ed yelled, as he felt the tip of the miniature sword dig into his upper left side. His back hurt even more, as he felt the sharp tips of broken metal, marble and glass dig in and scrape at his back. He growled and rolled over, instantly regretting his actions when-

"What the _hell_ are you two DOING?!" both men looked at the angry Winry at the door. She looked positively pissed.

"God damn it, Ed!! I never thought you were the jealous type!!" Edward gaped at the woman, who ran towards her boyfriend, who was bleeding noticeably from his arm. "What?! Hey I'm hurt too, you know!!"

Winry looked back in contempt. It was barely a second long, but Ed saw the flash of that particular emotion in Winry's eyes.

Edward found that though short, it still hurt, and mentally swore as he heard something break in his chest. "Well it's your fault for bringing such easily breaking things into the workshop with you! You know it's dangerous!!" That wasn't logic, and Ed knew it. And that made it hurt even more.

His eyes started to well in tears, and his bursting hear seemed not to listen to him. His mind swam in circles, constantly getting back to the starting point where Winry rejected him. Ed broke the stare, and instead saw-

He rubbed his eyes and growled – his eyes were playing tricks on him now! He could have sworn Drake's hair shone brown-ish for a second!

"Winry. Win, chill. I'm not that hurt."­ He heard the bastard say. Edward growled, and glared at the virus – or so his maddened vision told him was – that destroyed his life so far. Drake didn't seem to notice, as he drawled on: "He's the one with the bigger wound to lick." Ed would have lost his mind if he didn't control himself to a certain extent. The control didn't do much for his sudden attack at the hateful man.

"You _bastard_-"

_Clang_.

"Ed!!" shouted Winry, glaring at the surprised blond. Ed's eyes were widened to an impossible size, his now pale yellow eyes mirroring his inner emotions: shock, anger, love, and… betrayal, Winry noted with guilt.

The three kept still, Edward staring at Winry as if she'd grown another head, Winry glaring at Edward like a mother scolding a naughty child (or so in her mind) and Drake standing awkwardly between the two, trying to stop the bleeding, but only managing to irritate the wound to pour more blood out.

Edward broke the eye contact, and stood up. "… I'm going-"

Winry looked away as well. "The arm's not done yet, idiot. And don't you dare run out on this."

"I'm _not_ running away, I'm just going _out_."

"_You're_ staying right here till I treat your wounds, mister." With the tone of finality in her sentence, she pulled Edward towards the couches. She pulled out a first aid box from under the bloodied table. She sighed. She'd have to bleach it again.

* * *

"Be glad, Edward," Said Winry as she pulled out pieces of small metal and marble from Ed's skin. "'cause you don't have any tiny glasses in the wounds… I don't think I see the thing that caused this slit at the side though-" she didn't finish, however, as Edward stood up wordlessly, and marched out the front door, only pausing momentarily to grab his red coat.

"See ya."

Before either Winry or Drake could stop him, Edward was gone.

"God Geez!! That JERK!! He's been getting worse everyday since Al's-!" Winry yelled, coming to an abrupt stop at Al's name. She turned towards Drake, who was watching silently, and smiled. "Here Drakey, let me see your arm."

* * *

In the middle of an almost empty road, Edward tried to keep down his tears.

He missed his brother, he missed his brother, he missed- "I'm not sulking, Al." said Ed to no one, as he remembered the last promise he'd made with Alphonse. "I'll get over it." He promised, more to the gust of wind that just passed by than to himself. Ed's voice sounded hollow and his promise doubtful, even to himself.

He barely caught a single tear drop. Again. Ed sighed. Winry was going to be mad if she saw him crying. Winry. His heart tightened. Ed clutched at his chest, willing it to stop, wishing it to stop wanting her. It didn't work.

Ed sighed, looked around him for distractions from his pain, and caught the sun setting. He would have to go back soon. Back to Winry, back to her smile that he'd never get…

He shook his head, ridding his painful thoughts. He started thinking about Drake instead, and how an ass he was. His thoughts led to the reasons as to why Winry would like Drake, though, and he didn't like what his mind came up with.

Drake was handsome, he was good-looking at best, or so he hoped.

Drake was 'interested' in automail as well, unlike Edward, who could care less about his automail if not for the fact that he needed it for movement.

Drake was kind to her. Ed called her 'automail junkie'.

Drake… was _tall_. Ed… was … s… sh-shhhhuuuh… _short_.

Ed sighed. He needed Al. Desperately.

He somehow managed to enter the park again without getting caught by the guards. Edward staggered around, and upon finding the bench from that morning, he sat down, put his face into his hands, and let the sadness consume him.

* * *

**AN: It's not over. *evil cackle* Of _COURSE_ it's not over. This isn't torture, this is heartbreak. The real torture shall come soon.... if you are nice. **

**Many thanks to **chris3169512 **and **BrowncoatGrl** for the help of making this (and the next) chapter! **

**Edit: I've been thinking, and reading this again and again, and decided that this doesn't really count as torture. D| I think I have finished the chapter a bit too early. **

**Which is why, I decided to add a bit more. Sorry for the people who've already reviewed, but I get these changes in mind easily. Sorry! Gomenasai! Mi An Hae Yo! Pardon! Xin Loi! **

**R&R! (As people seem to ignore the green button if not requested)**

**Mrawgirl09**


	3. Wires and Bolt

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 3 (Input 2 - part 2): Wires and bolt**

* * *

_He somehow managed to enter the park again without getting caught by the guards. Edward staggered around, and upon finding the bench from that morning, he sat down, put his face into his hands, and let the sadness consume him._

* * *

A twig snapped.

"Who's there?!" Edward shot up from his seat, getting into a fighting pose before he could help it.

"Long time no see, Half-Pint Alchemist."

Ed gasped at the familiar voice, and saw the dreaded person emerge from the shadows.

"Envy!"

The homunculus sneered at the alchemist, slowly stepping closer towards the alchemist. "So the tin can is dead, eh?" Ed growled in response. "Aww, is the little shrimp mad?"

Temporarily forgetting that he didn't have his automail, Edward lunged at the grinning homunculus, his left had poised in a clap that never sounded. Envy sidestepped the man and grabbed the only hand. Edward gasped as he felt his wrist get scratched from Envy's fingernails. "Not so high and mighty without your automail, huh?" Edward tried to pry his hand away, only managing to get his wrists wounded even more from the applied pressure. Envy turned his other hand into a sharp, twisted sword. Ed, seeing that there was nothing he could do in his current position, did what he'd never do to his pride.

He yelled for help, on top of his lungs. Envy saw the people in houses look out the window into the deserted street. It wouldn't be long before people saw him and brought torches and pitchforks. "Tch," growled Envy, throwing Edward onto the ground. He leapt up to the nearest roof, looking back in a snarl. "I'll see you later, half-metal."

Edward got up, and escaped the park before anyone saw the Fullmetal Alchemist at his (almost) weakest. He looked at his wrist, seeing four red lines already pouring out blood.

"… Bastard."

He needed a shower.

* * *

After Ed left, Winry managed to bandage Drake's arm, clean the table and finish working on Ed's automail. With Ed gone and Drake silent, she had peace and quiet for her to concentrate better. She was glad that Drake stayed, as she still liked company in her house, as long as they were quiet. Drake didn't bother her with noises, unlike _some_ people.

At around 8, when everything had gone dark, Winry emerged from the workshop, immediately seeing Drake sitting on the sofa after he'd closed the shop for the day. Edward was nowhere to be found, but by the sound of running water, she assumed he was taking a shower. She got her working head band off, letting her blonde hair out from its confines.

"I need to prepare dinner for the three of us, could you clean up the room?"

"Sure," said Drake, immediately standing up. "What's for dinner?"

Winry smirked, approached the man and kissed him fully on the lips before leaving him at the shop's door. "Stew."

* * *

Hearing Winry in the kitchen, Drake walked around the workshop, looking for a way to get back at the short alchemist.

He saw the completed metal arm and leg, and a cruel smirk crawled onto Drake's face.

He approached the prosthetics, looking back behind him to make sure Winry was still in the kitchen, and applied his automail knowledge.

Dispatching the metal cover, Drake pulled out a bolt and quite a few wires from the limbs. He threw the parts into the junk pile, and replaced the metal plate.

After tightening the rest of the bolts, Drake left Winry's work desk with a cruel smirk adorning his face.

* * *

"Ready?" Ed nodded as he braced himself. "1… 2… 3!" Winry and Drake pushed his arm and leg into place until a dual click sounded from the ports. Edward gritted his teeth, boring his eyes into Drake's dark-blue ones, daring his body to lose consciousness in front of the bastard and … and Winry.

"Hey, you didn't faint this time." Said Winry, interrupting his thoughts. Ed mentally slapped himself, berating to himself to stop thinking about the bitch. Ed mentally slapped himself again, trying to bite his own figurative head off for the comment.

"Yeah… I … it gets better each time I …" he said, getting up. He immediately limped, leaning towards his right arm. "It feels… heavier." Said Ed, pointing out the obvious. He felt his face heat up. Idiot. Thankfully, Winry didn't seem to notice.

"Oh well, since you haven't quit the military, and since you're not… that tall," said Winry, trying to avoid the word but failing, to Ed's furthered misery, "I made this one heavier so that it gives more impact if you swung your fist like-" Winry stopped talking, staring at Edward. Ed felt his face heat up, and stopped stretching, ignoring the glare from Drake. He sent a questioning look to Winry, who answered in a question of her own. "Edward, what is that on your wrist?"

"Huh?" Ed blinked, and looked down at his left wrist. There he saw the four angry red lines, still gaping albeit their earlier treatment under water. "Uhh-"

"You _cut_ yourself?!"

Edward gaped. How could Winry think that about him? It hurt, more than he thought it would. His heart felt like it was being poked with something sharp, quite literally.

"What? No! This is from-" He was cut short by Winry's hand grabbing at his wrist. He hissed in pain as he felt her hand rub on his wounds.

"I can't believe you! How can you do this?!" Yelled Winry, right in his face. Ed was trying to speak, but before he could, Winry spoke something that sent his heart in a half-beat, and beat rhythmically into the sharp edge he felt in his body. "Edward Elric, this is a new low for you! I don't – I can't – how – are you turning _emo_ on me?!"

"What?! Win-"

Winry let go of the man's arm, almost as if burned. It hurt him, more than he could imagine. He almost felt his heart bleed, and he would have said so too, if it didn't sound so sappy. She shut her eyes tightly, hands on her ears as she shut herself away from Edward. "Don't!! Just-just-" It hurt. Ed noticed that he must have said it aloud, as Winry snapped open again and started explaining. "Look, I'm sorry-"

Ed felt his heart give out. The pang in his heart almost seemed like a pierce. Perhaps he was dieing. Maybe then she'd pay more attention to him. Ed sighed. Apparently mental slapping didn't have that much of an effect.

"No, Winry. You've got it all wrong. I'll be at the second guest room," he turned, ignoring Drake, and talked over his shoulder, "come talk to me when you finally calm down."

Upon hearing the door slam in the floor above, Winry broke down, crying. Drake's face was beet red, his whole frame trembling in rage.

"That JERK!" yelled the taller man, running up the stairs four at a time, slamming Ed's door behind him. Winry heard muffled cries, shuffling noises as he heard the two men fight. She felt so lonely. And afraid. And angry. She needed Alphonse. He was so calm and sweet, he'd get his brother in line… but he was gone. Winry got up, and ran out her shop, away from her pain of hearing her love and her best friend fighting tooth and nail.

She cried into the night.

* * *

The door slammed open and shut, and Edward whipped his heard around to see Drake, face red with anger, approaching him quickly with his fist pulled back.

"What do _you _want?!" Ed received a punch in his face. "WTF!?(1)" he yelled, before he got another punch. Drake pulled his hand back for more punches, but Edward grabbed his arm in his left arm, wincing slightly at the pain. Drake didn't get discouraged, however, as he yelled at the alchemist in the face.

"You _bastard_! NOW look what you've done!"

"What _I've done_?!" Edward was taken aback, and growled back. "You fucking-" He stopped short, however, when he saw that Drake's eyes didn't look at him, but over him. He looked back, tracing Drake's view, to see Winry, through a window, running into the darkness towards the town.

"- Winry?"

"Geez. I thought she'd _never _leave." Ed froze in his place. That couldn't be… He whipped his head back again, to see Envy finish his transformation from Drake to his preferred form.

* * *

"Envy!!"

"Good evening, half-pint." Smirked the homunculus, having a mocking bow at the alchemist.

"You bast-" Yelled Edward, as he moved to clap his hands. He suddenly fell sideways however, as he felt his arm give out. "Ah?" He breathed out, trying to ignore the throbbing pain at his heart. Did Winry purposely ruin his automail? He shook his head, his mind swimming in guilt and betrayal. How could she-

Envy cackled at his struggle on the ground, and clapped in morose glee as he saw the alchemist scramble up, staggering away from him.

"Hahah! Perfect timing!! I knew studying boring automail would have its perks."

Ed felt guilt. The heavy weight of guilt on his shoulders, as heavy as when he had to let Al go. Guilt that he suspected Winry of petty behavior when he said he'd loved her. He shook his head, trying to concentrate in the fight. Envy was already about 5 feet closer than he was before, and Ed was out by one arm and by more weight out of his control. He didn't have a chance, and he knew it.

Edward started to run, dashing past the homunculus. "What-What did you-Gah!" Finished Edward as his automail leg gave out, falling as his metal arm flailed around. Envy reached out his hand, evil smirk plastered in his face. Ed twisted out of Envy's grasp, grinding his teeth in pain as he felt a stab at his heart. He fell on his back, on his still fresh wounds. His mind raced simultaneously as he thought about Winry caressing his back, Envy approaching slowly, taking his time, and the now dominant pain in his chest. He tried to move away from the sin, but with the non-working metal limbs sprawled aside, he couldn't move an inch.

"Get away from me!!" Ed yelled, moving his one arm and leg furiously to get away from Envy.

"I'm not the one pinning you," said the sin, "as you seem to do the job quite efficiently." He stopped the alchemist from moving further by stepping lightly on the automail leg. "Now why don't I make it easier for you and get rid of the _dead_ weight?" Envy moved his hand towards Ed's.

Edward's eyes widened, as he saw the sin take his automail hand. He felt a chill down his spine. "Wha-stop-aaaAAARGH!!"

He felt pain.

He felt pain from his right shoulder, where he felt Envy's pull, to his left side where his heart would be, as he felt Envy push down with his feet. He felt the stab deepening.

He felt his nerves give out from the tension of the battle; he _felt_ the long strands of nerves withdrawing from his spine, he _heard _the port grind in protest as the prosthetic arm pulled on its holder, he _saw_ the port begin to wrench out of his body, _smelt _the blood that started to pour out of the steadily increasing gaps between his automail port and skin, he _tasted_ the bile that came up as he saw his arm get ripped from his body. And he would have acknowledged those feelings if he _felt_ them and was not screaming at the top of his lungs, his breath gurgling with the mixture of bile and blood from his bleeding and burning thorax.

Envy saw with satisfaction as a chunk of whitish blob, covered with ripped muscles and yellowing tendons fell out of the body, attached to the metallic port.

"Hahahah!! Is that a shoulder bone?" Envy shouted with glee, as he threw the arm behind him, and reached downwards to the metallic leg. "Let's see if I can get a chunk of hip bone off with this one!"

Edward felt the same sensation as he did with his arm, only half as painful, as he started to lose consciousness from the lack of blood. He only heard the disgusting crunch of his hip bone as he saw Envy pull out the rest of his leg out of his low limp thighs. "Aww, I almost had it! Hahahah!! Oh well." Envy threw the leg behind him as well, stepping on and kneading the lump of flesh that was once a part of a leg. Ed didn't even try to contain his scream.

"What's wrong, Ed?" Edward gasped, he opened his eyes that he didn't know he had closed, and saw the face of his refused love. His eyes teared up in spite of his knowledge that this Winry was actually Envy. He couldn't force himself from the feeling of relief, and, to a certain part, betrayal. "I thought you _loved_ me?" 'Winry' taunted him, her eyes sparkling with 'love'. Her smile was heavenly, and Edward almost thanked the non-existing god for him to die looking at the loving face of his love… until that sweet smile turned into a wicked, crazy, _evil_ grin. "I _love_ you too… I love the way you _scream!!_" Envy turned her fingers into a set of_ very _sharp knives, almost like scalpels, and began tracing unidentifiable patterns on his chest.

Edward kept screaming, only stopping to gasp in breaths to scream again.

Winry looked up at Edward's pained face, smiling sweetly as she peeled the cut skin above his chest. Edward didn't stop screaming.

"Come on Elric, let's see your heart beat for me." 'Winry' said, as she dug into Ed's chest, softly caressing his weakly beating heart.

Ed's voice died down into a growling gurgle, and his eyes stared at something above him that he couldn't see. He felt the stab at his heart again, and he felt the stab… at the _side_ of his …

* * *

Envy was gently squeezing the life out of the softly beating heart when he felt the heart stop. "What?" He frowned. That didn't kill a person, not just yet, not for another few minutes. He made sure, by trying it onto many different people similar to the brat before him. Of course, he destroyed evidence by using Gluttony… but it shouldn't have killed him. He searched the shrimp's eyes, and found them dead. "Oh… shit. Damn it." Envy growled, and tore out the still warm heart from the body, no longer caring how careful he was handling the heart. He examined the heart and didn't find anything wrong, except…"Fuck… No fair!!" Envy yelled, as he tore the heart to two. "GRAH!! The little shit-!!" Envy almost felt his eyes tear up in frustration as he saw the lightly shining piece of the glass sword from the dog statue the shrimp had bought earlier.

He had two chances, _two_, at killing the Elric brothers. And he failed. Twice. _Twice_. The younger brat somehow managed to get killed before Envy even saw him, and the older bastard - Envy grinded his teeth - the older one ... The one Envy looked so forward to killing... and the brat killed himself... and with a measly _knife_ _to the heart_?! All that work he did... for _nothing_?!

He was about to go into a gruesome temper tantrum that Rush Valley would ever see… and smiled.

"Your loss, half-metal," said Envy, as he turned back at the dead eyes. "and your love's."

Edward's now dull yellow orbs reflected Drake closing the door behind him.

* * *

After a good cry in the park, Winry stepped into the quiet household.

"… I'm home-" she stopped, seeing Drake holding a bleeding hand. "Drake?!"

Everything clicked. "The _idiot!_" She yelled, picked up a nearby wrench, and started towards the stairs. She was at the first step when Drake called her back.

"It's okay, I'm fine," he said, revealing the already healing wound. Apparently it wasn't as serious as the blood on him looked. "I'm for leaving the sore loser to himself." Said Drake with enough venom to beat a tarantula.

"But you're hurt!" said Winry, and before she got into a full rant mode, Drake intercepted her. "I'm fine, really." Said the man, as he snaked an arm around the woman. He smirked at the reddening cheeks of the flustered mechanic. "Of course, unless you want to kiss it better?"

"What?" asked Winry, still dazed at the deep blue eyes of her boyfriend.

Drake sighed. "Winry, during all this commotion I couldn't find the right time to ask you of this… but…" he knelt at one knee. Winry gasped, all thoughts about Edward forgotten. Drake produced a small box and opened it, revealing a beautiful ring of gold, centered a small rose embroidered in diamonds. "Would you … marry me?"

"…Yes, Drake." whispered Winry, and seeing Drake's still nervous look, she yelled, "Yes!!"

She lunged at Drake, arms over his shoulders as he picked her up and turned in circles. He then adjusted his grip on her, holding her up in bridal style.

"Hey, what're you-" Drake stopped her with a chaste kiss.

"You trust me, don't you?"

Winry nodded shyly, and Drake and she made their way towards Winry's bedroom.

Next door, Edward's soul wept.

* * *

The next day, the clients of the best automail shop in Rush Valley found the best customer of the shop, or so named by its owner, sitting dead in the guest room.

His metal arm and leg spoke volumes of her craftsmanship, seeing as the ports didn't break up in the pressure of their being pulled apart, but tore away the bones from their joints. The man was covered in blood and sweat, his chest torn apart, and at his feet a shredded heart and a broken piece of glass.

In the next room, the police found the owner of the shop herself lying dead and naked in a similar position, her chest in similar state as her client's. Her heart, however, was laid on in the middle of the bloodied sheets. It seemed that the killer had moved the body from the bed where he killed her, and positioned her similarly to the one next door.

Nobody saw the famed assistant of the automail mechanic, Drake Walter, and assumed thus that he was the murderer.

The military, under the direct orders from the Fuhrer, were searching high and low for the wanted man. They sent out flyers and did random searches and interrogations, and the whole country were under alert for the next 3 years.

The Xing's emperor, a known good friend of the FullMetal Alchemist, dispatched a troop of ninjas, led by the Dark General RanFan, to assist the military in search for the killer.

Nothing was found, and no murders continued.

People forgot.

In time, the people of Rush Valley only remembered the two corpses as a tragic, tragic story of a love triangle.

* * *

**(1) Yes, WTF. It is read Wht-th-fu, without the dashes.**

**Please do give me your comments. :) Though I can't say I'm happy with the number of reviews I got for the last chapter, but I _am_ happy with the quality of some, and I would like to update this chapter sooner rather than later. Besides, I'm not so sure that I would be able to update after this time, and I don't want to let the people who _did_ review down.**

**Anyways, the two chapters of input 2 and 3 were suggestions from the reviews, and I'd like to get inspirations from somewhere, so please, do review and give me suggestions of whatever. :)**

**On additional note, I might do a lot of things with hearts, since I seem to be a bit obsessed with it at the moment. In other words, I need IDEAS so I don't ... stick to ripping hearts apart! That gets boring after a few tries, D|**

**I felt so hyper after writing this and the last chapter that I HAD to write an Omake (though I have no idea what that word means, I think it's something of an extra) - so, here you go.**

* * *

**Omake**

* * *

Alphonse was strutting down the roads of Rush Valley, trying to ignore the dumbfounded stares from everybody in town.

He sighed. He must have missed a lot during his weekend stay at Ling's palace. Yes, Ling did become the emperor of Xing, and the Elric brothers were invited to a foursome dinner party over a weekend along with the new Fuhrer of Amestris to talk about a certain blond alchemist. He really was glad to be away from the two leaders glaring daggers at each other, without his brother to help him.

Yes, his brother ditched him to be maimed by the eyes of the Fuhrer and Emperor who was over _his_ body.

Additionally, the more he thought about how Winry and Edward would have talked about his absence, he was convinced that everybody were lead on to think that he was dead. The way everyone looked at him was proof enough.

He was worried about his brother and Winry, but mostly his brother. He knew he was in love with Winry, and he also knew that Winry already had a steady boyfriend, whom he never met yet, but he was sure, by Winry's swoon when she talked about him, was _wonderful_. He hoped Ed didn't confess just yet… for his own sake. And Mustang's sake. And Ling's.

Al sighed.

Edward was seriously messed up.

Ed somehow managed to attract the two men who were the rulers of neighboring countries, whom each had enough power to start the Neo Five-World War on his own, and he was hopelessly in love with his automail mechanic.

Alphonse loved drama, but he never imagined that his life would be in one.

Al's pace quickened as he saw Winry's shop, as busy as usual. More than usual, actually.

He frowned and stared at the splotches of black among the many colored citizens' clothes. Military police.

Al sighed again.

_Now_ what trouble had Ed gotten himself in?

* * *

**Mrawgirl09**


	4. Puddle

**Subject: Edward Elric **

**Input 3: puddle**

* * *

"You want me to WHAT?!"

Mustang sighed, as he rubbed his temple, trying to drown out the temperamental blonde's yells.

"It isn't my fault, Fullmetal," he growled out, "you are needed for your alchemy at the delta of Rivern at the south of Xenotime."

Edward wasn't convinced or deterred. His arms started flailing around him, taking off his coat and jacket to reveal a very shiny metal arm.

"Hello?! Automail!!" Edward yelled, pointing at his limb, "I have two full… okay, so one is half, but I have two limbs made from metal, which Winry only just switched some of the components into lead!!"

Mustang sighed again, pausing momentarily as he processed one part of the rant again. "… Why would she do that?"

"More impact on my punches, she said." Edward shrugged, and Mustang suppressed the need to sigh. Again.

"But we still need you to go there. I can't go, obviously because I am considered … unnecessary when dealing with water," Mustang said distractedly, frowning at the thought of his being useless wherever the hated liquid was present. He would have to find a way about dealing with that problem, but that was not the point, not now. "But you are being asked for the reparations and probably for the constructions of new dams and waterways to ease the inundation."

Edward threw on his clothes back, and slammed his hands on Mustang's desk, leaning down to glare at his superior officer's eyes, shouting: "Why can't the others go?! I can't be doing this; I'll drown if I land on a wrong spot!"

"It is not my problem that you're so short-"

Edward's eyes narrowed dangerously; face flushing dark red in fury, as he clenched his hands into rock-hard fists. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE'D DROWN IN THE SHALLOWEST OF PUDDLES!??!!!!"

"I didn't, you did." Mustang smirked, as he leant back in his chair. He picked up the report that surprisingly did not fall off his desk from the outburst, and read out the details, ignoring the simmering blonde alchemist. "Get your brother and be ready at the station tomorrow at 0700 sharp. The train leaves for Xenotime in 0715, and you can not run out of this mission."

Edward was about to yell at Mustang, but snapped his mouth shut, and, finding nothing to say to the man, threw up his hands in frustrated submission and stomped back towards the door. "Argh!! Damnit!!"

"And Fullmetal?" Mustang called as Edward reached for the knob.

Not yet calmed down from the outburst, Edward pivoted around on his right heel, snapping at the Colonel. "What?!" The blond almost did a double-take at the worried stare of the other man when onyx blue met gold.

Mustang's eyes were darker than usual, his unruly hair casting a shadow over the top of his face, as he told Edward in stern, yet not unkindly voice: "… Be careful. You may have to work in areas where the water level is high, watch where you tread, don't step on areas where the water bubbles are, don't step out to big bodies of water by yourself, at all if possible-" He was cut short, however, when Edward snorted and turned his back towards him again as he opened the door. "What are you, my mother?"

Mustang ignored the comment, but summed up his short lecture with the three words he wanted to say the most.

"- and don't die."

Edward's hand stopped from turning the knob, stopping time. He and Mustang stayed in their positions for a few minutes, until Mustang began with his paperwork, simply muttering a dismissal to the young boy.

Edward gripped tight at the handle, but turned his head back in a cocky smile in an almost - reassurance, "Ain't no way I'm going to die before you do, you bastard." With that, Edward strode out of the office, slamming the door behind his back, and managing to drop a picture from the wall by its force.

Roy Mustang sighed yet again, looking up from his paperwork as his fingers twirled his pen, "With the work you end up with, I should hope so." His vision lowered back onto the paper in front of him as he studied the words with a frown.

* * *

"So… you want me to what?"

Edward and Alphonse Elrics were currently in front of what looked like a gigantic river, which seemed to flow peacefully down the small valley.

Sergeant Jennings smiled weakly up at them in apology, as he struggled with undoing the ropes on the tree next to it.

"We need you to fix up some parts of the dam," he said, finally getting the ropes out of the tangle, "It's quite weak at some points, and there were quite some bursts all around the lower surface. It's not too much that it's going to ruin all of the reserves, but it's enough that it's shredding people's homes into nothing."

"Uhuh. And we're taking a boat to get there?" deadpanned Edward, ignoring the shove at his side from Alphonse.

"We've no choice," said Lieutenant Kin, readying the paddles, "the other paths are obstructed by water, and some areas were destroyed, making it impossible for us to reach it in any other way."

Edward groaned, glared at the boat for a second, before stepping into the boat. Alphonse suddenly grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him back onto the secure land.

"Brother, maybe I should do this one," he said, his golden eyes filled with worry, "You shouldn't go-"

Edward smiled in almost a grimace, as he took his brother's flesh hand into his automail one, "It'll be okay, we'll both go," he said, pulling Alphonse's hand away from his shoulder. "I'll tie myself to the boat if I have to, don't worry."

Alphonse wasn't happy with the reassurance; in fact, the way his brother seemed to take it so lightly seemed to scare the taller boy even more. "But brother-" he started, but seeing his brother's face hardened into the typical Elric stubborn mask, he sighed and followed his brother. "… whatever."

Edward chuckled as Alphonse took a seat in the boat next to his brother, "I've taught you well to give up early when dealing with me."

Alphonse frowned at his brother and opened his mouth, then shut it, sighing: "Just- Let's just go, brother." Edward laughed again as the boat left the edge of the temporary port.

* * *

The boat travelled upstream with surprisingly little effort.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Alphonse asked suddenly, as he pointed at a brown, slanted piece of wood. Half of it seemed to be submerged, yet the plate of wood didn't move. Sergeant Jennings had a look towards the object, and shrugged mirthlessly.

"It's a roof of a house; it's probably one of the refugees'. We managed to evacuate many before the real big tsunami crashed, but more are missing, presumed dead."

Alphonse shook his head as he pointed again at the brown roof, more specifically at the small figure he could see through a small window.

"No, I mean- there's a girl over there!" He leant on the edge of the raft, almost toppling into the swirling water, if not for Edward's quick grab at his shirt.

"Wah! Al! Don't!!"

Alphonse persisted, still trying to get the soldiers to steer towards the flooded house. "We need to go get her! She's isolated there!"

"But Al-" Edward began, but shut up as soon as he saw the determined look that he had used on Alphonse just before, being used right back at him. Edward sighed, and motioned the soldiers to row. "Can we get closer to the house?"

"We won't have much time," said Lieutenant Kin, frowning. "The water is flowing down the valley very quickly, and the house will be fully immersed within another … three hours if we don't fix the dam."

Alphonse glowered at the unwillingness the lieutenant was showing. "Exactly why we need to get her out of there."

Kin didn't reply to Alphonse's comments as he steered the boat towards the nearly-wrecked house. Jennings found the tip of a tree that surprisingly managed to stay rooted right next to the house and tied the rope of the boat to it. Alphonse took off his coat, handing it to Edward, and stepped into the house through a window.

"I'm going in, brother." Alphonse smiled, and disappeared, only to flash once again and give a stern look to Edward. "Stay."

Edward scowled. "What am I, a kid?" His scowl turned into a worried smile, and said to his little brother: "Just be careful."

Alphonse smiled again, "I know, I'm not you."

"Hey!" was Edward's only indignant answer as Alphonse disappeared once again.

* * *

Hours passed, and Alphonse was still not back either with or without the girl.

"Hey Al!!! Are you there?!" Edward shouted, finally having had enough of the silence from his brother. There was another five minutes of silence before Edward started to take off his coat.

"Brother!! We can't!! Her foot is stuck and if I alchemise the floor the whole roof is going to collapse!!" Came Alphonse's voice from the other side of the house.

Edward almost looked relieved, as he gripped onto the edge of the boat and yelled back, "Alchemise the roof first then!!"

"I can't reach!!"

"Damnit!" Edward took off his coat, and started to tie a rope around his waist.

"No, sir! You can't go in there!!" Jennings stopped Edward from jumping into the house, earning a growl from the young man.

"My brother is stuck in there with a kid, and this house is going to either collapse or it's going to get demolished and taken away by the water's current. I am damned hell as well not going to leave him there!!"

Edward pried Jennings' hand off of his shoulder, and took a step to the eldge of the house, when Kin grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"I'll go, with Sergeant Jennings, you don't move from the boat."

Edward bit his lip, but relented. "… Fine, just get the hell back here with Al safe and sound."

Kin smiled awkwardly, but saluted, and entered the house with Jennings in a leap. "Sir, yes sir!"

* * *

Edward was left alone on the boat, with his mind flying everywhere in worry for the three people who had entered the damning house.

"Damnit… What the fuck are they taking so long?!"

Another big current almost toppled the boat, splashing dangerously at the roof of the house. "Al?!"

"Don't move, brother! I'm out! We're trying to get to the girl!" Came a voice, shaking but strong.

"Well hurry the fucking damn hell up!" Exclaimed Edward, covering the relief in his voice with anger. "The current is getting violent and I don't like the way the house is shaking!!"

Alphonse didn't reply to his comment, but repeated what he had just said. "Don't move, brother! I won't forgive you if you do!!"

"I won't forgive you if you die in there, Tin-man!"

"I am not a tin-man, Shortie!"

"SHUT UP!"

At that moment, another big wave splashed onto the roof of the house, successfully crashing through the walls and the roof tiles of the inundated home. "Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Alphonse!!" Edward panicked as the roof collapsed and was swept away by the giant current. He searched frantically for his brother, and almost face faulted when he did find him struggling towards the boat with a girl in his arms.

"Brother!!" He stepped towards the boat, which, by the force of the current, was sitting on top of what's left of the veranda of the house. Unfortunately, the wooden floor decided to crush under the pressure, and Alphonse's foot smashed through a hole, stopping his progress towards the boat.

Edward did not want to wait for his brother try to pull his leg out of the hole.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Transmute the floor off and let's be done with it before the house flows off!!"

"But the others!"

"Girl first! Damnit!" Edward shouted, and Alphonse held out the girl obediently.

Another current hit the house, shaking it dangerously. "Mommy!!!" The girl in Alphonse's arm was already terrified, but the surrounding mass of water and debris frightened her even more.

Edward growled as he caught the girl, holding her close to him despite his words. "Shut up, kid! We're trying to save your butt here!!"

"Brother!!"

"Shut't! Where are Sergeant Jennings and Lieutenant Kin?!"

"I don't know! They got taken away with the roo-augh!!" Yet another big wave of water splashed through the house, drowning everything momentarily.

"Damnit-Al!!" Edward gasped through the water, lifting the girl up so she could breathe as well. Alphonse was not having the similar luck.

"Broth-glurb-" He tried to speak through the wafting water, as he felt his feet sink further through the hole every time he tried to stand. The floor gave out, and Alphonse's head, the only thing that was visible so far, disappeared under the water.

"Al!! No!! Alphonse!! Hang in there Al!!" Ed was about to jump out of the boat, but hesitated and turned towards the shivering girl, covering her with his wet coat. "Alright, what's your name?"

"Lizzie –mommy-" The girl sniffled, her hand twisting in Edward's shirt. He grimaced and gently got her to let go, and talked quickly as he transmuted the end of the rope around his waist to the side of the boat.

"Okay, I can get you to your mommy as soon as I get Alphonse out of there, okay?"

"Okay- but-" Lizzie started, but Edward stopped her stuttering by holding up his hand, eyeing nervously at the area where he'd seen Alphonse last.

"Don't, this is really important, I'll tie this rope to this big tree here, okay? This rope is going to stop the boat from flowing away, okay? And now I have to go to your house through your room there, because my brother and his friends are there, and they need my help, okay?" The girl kept nodding, tears flowing as he patted her arms and back in reassurance. Edward glanced backwards; he could see the floor glistening, as along with the big wave came the water rush, where it left the house a little less flooded. "I can't swim, so I need your help, I'm going to go down with a rope around my waist, and I'm going to have the other end around the same tree, okay?" He released her and stepped out of the boat, his eyes never leaving hers as he tried a reassuring smile. "I need you to watch if the other two men are coming, and tell them which rope is mine, and tell them to pull on it if they see it shaking, okay?" Lizzie didn't stop crying, but she kept on nodding as Edward pointed everything out in details. "Right, everything's going to be just fine, don't cry, I need your help, so you have to be brave, alright?"

"But mister-" Lizzie called for him, but before he could respond, Edward took a step towards the hole Alphonse had fallen in, and accidentally stepped onto a puddle of water, which happened to be a small, weak spot similar to that which Alphonse had his foot trapped moments before.

"Wagh!!" With a yelp, Edward comically crashed through the wooden floor and splashed under water.

* * *

Lizzie stared on, eyes wide in fear and surprise. She concentrated so hard on that spot where the two blonde teens had disappeared that she jumped 3 storeys when she felt someone board the boat. Her head whipped around, and cried in relief as she saw the first blonde teen, Alphonse, pull himself out of the water and onto the boat.

He coughed water for some time, before gathering himself, and finally noticing the one person he was mainly worried about, missing.

"Where is Ed?!" He asked the girl, his voice more angry than he wished it to be. She started crying again, clutching at the coat that Edward gave her.

"He jumped in after you didn't come up!!"

"What?!" Alphonse paled, and reached over the boat to look at the slowing rising tide beneath it. Lizzie held onto the boy's shirt, afraid that Alphonse would jump in after the other boy just like he did. "He said to pull the rope!!"

Snapping out of his reverie, Alphonse noticed the alchemisized rope and started to pull on it, hoping to the nonexistent god that Edward was safe.

* * *

Edward, meanwhile was searching frantically underwater for his brother, for anything that indicated his brother was in trouble. He felt a pull on his rope, and looked at where he felt the pull, hopeful that it may have been his brother.

He was momentarily disappointed when he saw the rope stuck at a door that surprisingly held through the violent currents, but his hope resurfaced as he saw the other end of the rope struggle to pull him up.

Edward tried to dislodge the rope from the door, but the rusty hinges somehow managed to grate the rope, which soon broke as someone on the surface applied more force upon their pull. Thankfully, Edward was able to hold onto the end of the rope before it got too far away, even more fortunately that he was starting to feel the effects of holding his breath for so long.

Not quite so effortlessly, he was pulled through the many obstacles within the submerged house, such as a floating table or a nearby staircase, towards the surface of the water.

Edward gasped through the cold, wet air when he did reach the surface, looking for the boat and hopefully for his brother.

"Brother!!" Edward's eyes snapped towards the sound, half of his mind thanking whatever lived in heaven or hell that his brother was alive and well. The other half was berating about his life being in danger presently.

"Al?! Arg-!" Before Edward could rejoice that he was back together with his brother, another tidal wave crashed onto the boat, sending Edward smashing into walls and floors as a result.

"Brother! Hold on!!" Edward heard the panic in his brother's voice, and called out to somehow assure him that he was alright, for now, when the wave that hit the boat, hit him.

* * *

"Edward!!" Alphonse was beyond hysterical when he saw the wave crash onto his brother, making Edward lose his grip on the rope. Lizzie was bawling out loud, he was soaking wet to his underwear, and the Lieutenant and the Sergeant somehow managed to swim to the boat and climb in; Alphonse didn't mind any of these as he quickly transmuted another rope out of what was left, tied it around him and took off his shoes. Barefoot would be better for him to feel under water for any dangers than boots.

"Sir?!" shouted Kin, trying to hold Alphonse back. The younger Elric didn't let the man grab at him, and jumped into the water, barely shouting back the words before he dived: "It's Ed!! He's-!"

* * *

Edward, meanwhile, was hanging onto his dear life at a window frame of the first floor of the house. He was being overwhelmed by the sheer force the water current under the surface, and the only thing he was thankful for, now, was that his automail was heavy enough not to let the flood sweep him away. He tried to get his feet onto the gavel ground beneath him, so that he could push his way upwards quickly before the water got him too far away from the boat to be saved.

The air in his lungs was running out quicker than before, and his body screamed in the need of oxygen. Though his mind was scolding himself to calm down and use least oxygen as possible, his body kicked in the self-preserving mechanism; his actions became frantic and rapid, his legs kicking fruitlessly at the water around him to get to the surface.

Getting to a point where Edward could no longer hold his breath, Edward prayed, prayed to whatever god that existed to not let him die. Not yet.

As his eyelids drooped and his mouth opened, letting the pent-up carbon dioxide escape, he faintly felt something soft touch his lips. Feeling a warm gush of air flow into his mouth, he tiredly opened his eyes and saw a pair of golden orbs, staring into his.

* * *

Alphonse felt his brother stir in his arms, and almost sighed in relief that he was still conscious. He put his arms around Edward's frame, under his arms, pulling on the rope several times before he felt their bodies pull through the current. Their progress was slow, however, and Alphonse felt his air reserves thin as he kicked through the water towards the boat.

Edward felt it too, and in his dimming consciousness he flailed in Alphonse's arms, punching the boy away from him as he was instantly swept by another big current down the destroyed village.

'Ed!' Alphonse shouted, not caring that what was left of air in his lungs was pouring out of his mouth.

Edward closed his eyes, feeling his lungs fill with water instead of air, choking as he felt his body cough to get the water out his trachea, only to get even more water poured in when he gasped.

His consciousness slipped away when he felt his back scrape the bottom of the 'river' as it skidded along with the current.

* * *

Three days after the Giant Flood at Rivern, Edward Elric's body was found two and a half kilometres downstream, when a fisherman's net was caught in his automail, fishing him out from the bottom of a lake.

* * *

**I can honestly say that I am not happy with what I've written here. I was suggested of a death by drowning, and I tried it, but it is, from what I've found out from Wikipedia, a boring way to die (or so my sadistic side says – I am not saying I really like people dieing in the most cruel way, I promise. I am sorry for anyone who had relatives or friends who died from drowning). **

**This chapter … was a disaster, to say the least. Well, at least, in my opinion. It somehow turned out to be a brotherly love- ish fic…. I didn't mean to put in that kiss scene, and if you ask, it's not Elricest. I hate Elricest. **

**I had fun making up the names, though. Especially KIN's name. You'll know if you're a Korean. :D **

**GEEZ this story is turning out to be less character torture and more character death. And this chapter wasn't even that funny. Ugh. I should rest for awhile.**

**P.S - Anyone who knows if and how a person can get killed with hair, please tell me.**

**P.P.S – The below is the result of me being way too clingy with this fic. Just something that my mind came up with as I put that last sentence to Ed's death, as to what happened to the others. **

* * *

Alphonse Elric was admitted to the Central Hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia until he was returned to Risembool two weeks disappeared three years later, and all Winry Rockbell, his neighbour and childhood friend, could say was that he was rereading every piece of research he and his brother had done in the past years, ever since they first learnt alchemy, to the point of obsession. The day before he disappeared, he appeared on the porch of the Rockbell Automail, his right eye and left arm bleeding and a stump, along with a good portion of his stomach and liver gone, as Alphonse had said himself. She mentioned that Alphonse smiled, a feat that he hadn't done in three years ever since Colonel Edward Elric was killed in the flood.

Roy Mustang demoted himself to a Cadet to guard a shack near the border of Amestris and Drachma, where seven years later he died in a Drachman ambush, after he warned the Central Headquarters of their attack.

Lizzie Krisoh, the girl that Edward Elric died saving, became a famous author after she graduated college. Her best known work was her story of an event in her childhood, when she was saved from the Giant Flood at Rivern by a foul-mouthed and way-too-kind two teens, by the name of Edward and Alphonse Elrics. She died at the age of 23 in a car accident in front of her old house in Rivern.

* * *

**Yes, I killed Mustang as well. ... Maybe I shouldn't have killed Lizzie.**

**Mrawgirl09**


	5. Braid

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 4: Braid**

* * *

Footsteps echoed through the near-empty corridor of the Central Military HQ, as two very high stacks of paper and folders walked towards the file storage room.

"Edward, don't you think it's time that you cut your hair?" said Kain Fuery, as he tried to catch a stray paper work falling from his pile.

A hand shot out of the other pile of papers, grabbed the paper out of the air and added to his pile. Edward readjusted his paperweight on the pile and flipped over his waist-long braid.

Fuery continued, "I mean, when you guys were searching for the stone for Alphonse, I would have thought that you just wouldn't have had the time," he shrugged, opening the door with his feet, "but now you guys are back to normal and all, and I was just curious why you wouldn't cut your hair."

The two militants entered the room, closed the door behind them, and plopped the paperwork down onto their desks.

"I don't really have a reason," Ed shrugged, and grinned. "I mean, it's not really that important, is it?"

He grabbed a large handful of the pile of paperwork and slammed open the door to the inner office for the last task before he was let off work.

* * *

"You can't have your hair like that anymore, Elric." Mustang deadpanned, his eyes flicking up from his paperwork to Edward's swaying hair behind the blonde.

Said blonde, his foot still high in front of him from kicking open the door, almost dropped the papers in his arms. Edward hastily dumped the load onto Hawkeye's waiting arms and slammed his hands onto Mustang's desk, rattling everything on top of it.

"What? Why?!" He screamed at Mustang's face, "It was okay until now!"

Mustang scowled at the younger man's volume, placing the fallen receiver back into its place. "There wasn't a manic serial killer that cam after your blood until now," he said, and seeing Ed's retort coming, he added, "after Scar."

Ed closed his mouth, and crossed his arms stubbornly.

"There were still lots of people who were after my blood," He huffed. After a brief silence, he glanced at the report Mustang was writing on. "So… what's this about a serial killer?"

Hawkeye pulled the paper out of Mustang's hands and replaced it with another.

"You are _not_ to go find the killer, _Edward_," said Mustang, emphasizing his subordinate's familiar name, "He's so far killed 12 women, -"

Ed snorted. "Pfft, so what? 12 women doesn't compare to what the homunculi did and-"

"-their bodies were found littered in alleys among trash, cut into pieces, head severed, and hair cut off to the skull."

Edward felt an unfamiliar chill down his spine. He gulped, and nodded.

"… Okay, so maybe he's … peculiar than most," he said, "it still doesn't really affect me, does it? I'm a guy!"

"I wouldn't say that, Edward." Said Hawkeye, her voice always professional, "Every one of those women had long, exquisite blond hair."

Ignoring Edward's stuttering defense of his hair, Mustang continued, "We suspect that it's either a work of someone obsessed with hair or just a psychopath wigmaker of sorts," he laid down his pen and stared the other man down, "but you never know. Be careful, Edward."

Edward did not respond, but he nodded curtly and stepped out of the office briskly, almost as if jogging. Edward ignored the stares of the other officers in the room looking at his pale face, and the distant sound of Mustang's order coming somewhere from his back.

"And get that hair cut short before work tomorrow!"

* * *

Edward strode down the empty streets of Central, towards his dorm. He originally planned to go to his new apartment, especially after he sent all of what little he possessed in his dorms to the room, but he decided to take the closer route that was to the military dorms. Ed wasn't taking Mustang's warning, of course. It was logical, after all, that he took the safer way instead of his usual ignorant management, mainly because it was either follow Mustang's orders or get soldiers babysitting him.

"Damn Mustang… Where the heck am I suddenly supposed to go cut hair during Dorsei Week?!"(1) He yelled into the evening street, half-throwing his huge suitcase onto the ground.

"You want to cut your hair?" came a voice behind him.

"Aah!!" screamed Edward, startling the other person as well. "Aah!" They screamed together, until the other person suddenly bowed and repeated "Sorry!!" over and over again.

Edward placed his hand over his heart, trying to calm himself, and yelled at the girl behind him. "The hell?!"

She didn't look up, "Sorry! I couldn't help but overhear you shouting," she started, still not looking up, "but I work at a hair saloon next to that wig shop, right over there, and well, I was just wondering if you would want to cut there?" She risked a glance upwards to chance at Ed's face, but seeing as he was gaping as if she sprouted another head, bowed again. "I mean, you have _wonderful_ hair, and the wigmaker next to our shop was needing long, blond hairs for a special customer, and-"

"Whoa, hey, slow down," said Edward, holding up his hands. "First of all, what's your name?"

The girl snapped up her head, and suddenly grinned.

"Oh! Right, right. Sorry. My name's Jenny, Jenny Coy." She introduced herself, and put out her right hand.

Jenny had mid-length thick black hair, framing her small face with soft curves towards and out. She wore black-pink thick plastic glasses, though it didn't hide the small mole on the edge of her left eyelid. She had a thin purple long-armed shirt, and a pair of gray shorts that looked one size too big. Her dirty green slippered-feet nervously kicked at the pink suitcase dragging behind her, and Edward noticed that he was staring.

"Edward," said Ed, almost handing out his left hand and quickly switching it to his right. "So Jenny, what's this about a wig and hair and cut?"

Jenny only slightly seemed to be relieved as she ranted out a sales speech, "Our saloon specializes in long cuts, and the wigmaker next door sends his customers to our shop. It's beneficial to both our jobs, so we help out, from time to time, like looking for some special types of hair that he might need," she stopped suddenly, and glanced nervously at Ed's bangs, which he unconsciously grabbed it out of her view, "which happens to be long, blond hair …"

Ed smiled uncomfortably, and took a step backwards.

"Right, you know, it's kinda freaky to know that your hair's going to be on someone else's-" he stopped, suddenly remembering Mustang's words. Unfortunately, the only thing he remembered was the characteristics of the possible killer. "You know what, what the hell. I'll come over next week and-" and _then_ he remembered Mustang's last order. "Umm, actually, is it possible for you to open the shop today? I have to cut my hair before tomorrow and, well …"

Jenny's eyes brightened and started digging in her pockets. "I do have a spare key with me, since my room is on its second floor, but I don't think Mr. Heins would be very happy if he ever found out about it, but …" she plucked out a small silver key from her back pocket, and grabbed Edward's wrist with the other hand. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him! Let's go, Edward!"

With that, Ed let himself dragged into the dark shop along with the pink suitcase.

* * *

The door opened easily, and they let themselves into the empty shop.

Edward left his bag at the nearby black leather sofa, as did Jenny with hers.

"Huh… I've never really been to hair saloons before…" said Ed, his eyes skimming around the unfamiliar surroundings. Jenny returned to the sofa with a glass of what seemed like orange juice, handing it to Edward, who thanked her.

"Really? Why?" she asked, resuming the conversation as she prepared her station.

"I've just been traveling a lot before, and my hair didn't grow longer than my shoulder length," Ed sipped on his cup of juice as he watched the teen get her scissors and hair products, "It didn't grow until I settled down, but it sure grew fast."

Jenny finished her preparations and came around to the sitting area with a cup of orange juice for herself.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have the honor of cutting your hair for the first time in a long while!" She beamed, and Edward couldn't help but smile as well.

"Sure, why not," he had another sip of the juice, eyeing the girl as he attempted to approach the real reason he came into the shop. "So, the hair you cut goes to the wigs next door?"

"Yeah, if it's long enough and in good quality," said Jenny, nodding.

"Right," Ed leaned backwards, positioning himself so that he could see past a protruding wall that gave way to a glass door where he could see the shop next door. "So you guys must have lots of customers, huh?"

Jenny laughed out loud, startling the man. "Of course not! It's not like we're the only hair saloon in Central! Mr. Pat gets most of his hair somewhere else; our shop is only like a complementary thing." She poured some more juice into her cup, filling it almost to the rim.

"Oh. Do you know where he gets them?" He asked, gently, or as gently as he thought he was being, as he continued to sip on his cup of juice inconspicuously.

"Nope! No one knows, but it isn't our business anyways."

"What about the blond hair?" He prodded, "Is this like really important to him that he's asked you guys to search people out?"

"Nah, he's got a collection of his own, ready for use, but he keeps them and never uses them. I think they weren't the right hair, but he keeps them around, just in case," Jenny suddenly sprang up from her seat, and put down her cup on the table, and lead Edward to her station. "Sit here, Edward."

Edward left his empty cup next to Jenny's, and followed her to his seat in front of the mirror.

* * *

"Wow. It's longer than I expected," exclaimed Jenny, as she untangled knots, releasing the long blonde hair from the braid, "it's longer than most female customers I had!" Edward scowled at her by the mirror, but Jenny merely smiled. "You really weren't kidding when you said you didn't go to a saloon – ever!"

Edward didn't grace her with an answer, but she didn't seem to mind, as she draped a sheet of cloth over his body and around his neck.

"Is there any specific length you'd like it to be cut?" She asked, spraying the hair with water.

"Oh, uh, just below shoulder, enough to be made into a short braid," said Ed, motioning with his hands.

"Right," she said, and pulled on the hair lightly to measure the length. She suddenly pulled back, "Okay, I'll need to go get something to hold the hair off the dirty floor, alright? I'll be right back!"

Before Edward could say anything, the girl disappeared into the hallway he glanced at before.

Alone, Edward got up and walked around the shop, taking in every detail, every corner for any kind of a clue he might find. He sneaked towards the hallway Jenny disappeared through, and sneaked a peek at the wig shop next door. He saw a dusty glass door that seemed like it wasn't used for some time, leading to a dirty alley and another glass door on the other side, leading into the wig shop.

Just as he was reaching for the handle, Edward heard Jenny's footsteps approaching, and so he returned to where he sat, yawning.

When Jenny had come back into the saloon, Edward was already sitting on the chair, looking absolutely still.

She didn't notice anything, and started fussing about his hair again, until a loud snore interrupted her.

* * *

Edward dimly heard a metallic clicking sound somewhere around him. His eyes blinked open, his mind whirring already, analyzing the annoying noise, the heaviness of his limbs, and… his inability to move?

His eyes snapped up, searching groggily around the room, which was surprisingly not dimly lit, like the usual places he'd been kidnapped. It would be easier to-

"Oh, you woke up already?" Edward's eyes dragged south, where Jenny smiled at him from her squatting position in front of his legs. His eyes focused a little more and widened as he saw her wrapping a stone manacle around his left knee, as if it wasn't heavier than a thick book.

Jenny seemed to notice Ed's look, as her smile turned into a slight frown, and muttered, "Damn, it usually lasts longer …"

Edward's senses awakened fully, his brain quickly assessing the situation at hand.

His arms and torso were bound tightly onto a throne like chair that was stuck to the ground, where his head was forced straight and still by a long round shackle around his neck. While his forearms and wrists were bound, his hands were still free of movement, so he started to rub his index finger on the coarse surface of the stone throne, trying to bleed so he could use his alchemy and escape from the restraints.

His movement also showed that his right leg was yet to be shackled properly, as it only held stone manacles around it and not yet attached to the chair, and he used Jenny's distraction to his left leg, kicking her hard into the side, sending her crashing into some objects next to her.

Ed furiously worked his wrists, trying to get more room for him to draw upon with his bleeding finger.

Jenny struggled up, biting her lips as she clutched her side. "Ow!! That hurt!"

"It had better be! Let me go-!" Edward yelled, or at least tried to as Jenny forced a gag through his protesting lips.

"I should get better measurements of drugs," Jenny muttered, still rubbing her side. "I'm sorry, Edward. It would have been much better if you were asleep."

She fastened the stray leg quickly before he kicked her again, and moved to the right to a small table, illuminated by another light.

Edward felt his eyes widen as he first noticed the small table next to them, displaying various sharp implements, so much that they seemed to be glinting in a blue shade in the yellow – orange light.

Jenny silently picked up a small scalpel from the assortment, and winced when the finger bled with a small cut the moment she touched the tip. She turned to Edward, her expressions woeful but her eyes cold, "I'm really sorry I measured everything wrong, I should have increased the dosage." She straddled Edward, brushing up his bangs back, and drew a line along the edge of the man's scalp.

A thin line of blood appeared where the knife had touched, thickening as the blood rolled down his face.

"It would have hurt less if you had died while asleep," Jenny sighed, got off, and moved around the chair to his side, still holding up the golden strands away from the blood.

More and more blood poured out of the widening wounds as Edward tensed, struggling with all his might trying to get out of the restraints. It was one of these situations when Edward missed his automail.

"I promise I'll take good care of your hair and your body, not like those others." Jenny cooed, muttering other nonsensical things in a way that she thought was soothing into Edward's ears.

By the time her hands made the contour of Edward's scalp a few times, she replaced the bloodied scalpel back on the table, and picked up broader, thicker spatulas.

Without as much delicacy she showed when cutting the skin, she pushed in the tips of the meshes into the gap, coercing the thin tissue away from the skull beneath.

Blood flowed all around Edward; down his eyes, lips, chin, back of his neck and into his clothing. Pained groans escaped the tight ball of clothing in his mouth, the loud agonizing screams they would have been, muffled into barely audible moans by the wet mass of cloth.

The room was silent throughout the whole bloody process, except for the pained whines from Edward as metal scraped off the nerves, occasional grunts from Jenny as she dug as slowly and as smoothly through cracks of the coronal suture as she could.

Edward forced open his eyes, glaring at Jenny whenever his mind would become blank and blink out the pain for a second or two. He willed his heart to pump more blood around his body, more specifically to his brain before it shut down and stopped working altogether.

He wouldn't die. Not just yet.

With another yank and a muffled cry, Jenny finally tore off the scalp, blood spattering on the prepared newspapers.

"Oh geez," Jenny muttered, as she wrapped the bloody end of Edward's hair with huge mounds of tissue, "the other girls didn't bleed as much when I did this-"

She turned to Edward, and took a step back unintentionally at the murderous glare of two golden, almost yellowish-glowing eyes. They did not blink, and to her delightful fright, they moved, following her every movement.

"You look _so_ scary, Edward," she cooed, disappearing out of Edward's peripheral sight.

Edward's eyes immediately fell to his hand with which he had been drawing the small sigil, which was already complete and ready for use.

Twisting his wrist, he concentrated on trying to place his trembling, white fingers around the edge of the circle.

He screamed.

The hateful girl had reappeared in front of him, without his notice, and had struck the middle of his shin with an axe.

An _axe_.

The wet and loosened gag muffled most of what he screamed, but his lungs shook with pressure.

Jenny silently struck the other leg, concentrating on the blood that burst out of the wound as she pulled the blade out; the rest of the body quaking in shock as she measured the next hit; the golden stream at the edge of her vision that somewhat reassured her goals.

Jenny's eyes didn't return to Edward's face until a bright blue flash startled her, the sudden air current pushing her away from her captive. Annoyed, she aimlessly stroke whatever that came to contact with her axe, hoping every time she heard something break that it was Edward.

After the flash diminished, Jenny opened her eyes again, and noticed that her axe was wedged in something, and that she couldn't get it out. As the smoke dissipated, dark brown met gold, each staring at the other, almost lifelessly.

_Almost_ lifelessly.

Jenny blinked, her sudden stupor going away, and pushed the handle further, ignoring the now free, cold hand that rested on her neck, and forced the axe to cut through the rest of the spine and the clothes.

Edward's eyes didn't dim as he continued to glare the girl down, right up till his vision darkened and blood flowed freely down his trachea.

* * *

In front of a small hair shop, Heins handed over the soft purple bag over to the girl. "You're leaving already? You've only been with us for less than a week!" He exclaimed, pulling her into a big hug.

Jenny sighed and pulled back from Heins's arms, eyes watering. "I know, I'm sorry, but my mother is seriously sick, and the doctor says it might be her deathbed, and-"

"There, there," Heins cut her short, patting on her shoulder,"don't cry, Jenny, c'mon, I'll take you to the train station."

Jenny's eyes widened, as she held up her hands in protest. "No, no, it's okay," she said, "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Alright then. Take care, Jenny."

With a handshake, Jenny bid her adieu and strode away from the shop as confidently as she came to his shop, with her large purple suitcase trailing behind her.

Heins only momentarily pondered about a big pink suitcase that was nagging at the edge of his mind.

* * *

On the other side of Central City, Blaine Che came out of an alley, wearing a dark blue sundress with a black belt, her long, waist length golden-blonde hair swaying behind her back. Blinking quickly to settle the lens into place, she placed fake eyelashes on top of hers, effectively hiding the tiny mole on top of her eyelid. She smiled, her black eyes shining.

"Works every time-!" she stopped abruptly, turned around, and stared at a silvery-haired woman pass by. It wasn't silver, but platinum blonde, pulled up into a tight bun but so smooth and soft, even when seen from afar.

Blaine decided to stay a little bit more in Central, before she moved to Xing; there just seemed to be so much beautiful specimen that she could add to her collection.

Of course, she mused, looking for a job ad, the only one she would deem acceptable to use it herself was the recently acquired.

Humming to herself, Blaine moved towards a bakery, the heels of her brand new black slippers clicking on the pavement.

* * *

The doorbell rung sharply throughout the Elrics' new apartment residence.

"Yes, coming!" Alphonse ran to the door and opened it. On the other side was Colonel Roy Mustang, in casual at that, holding a melon up to the younger Elric.

"You like melons?"

Alphonse laughed, and accepted the melon, inviting Mustang into the house.

"What brings you here?" Alphonse asked, leading Mustang to the small living room.

"I was just curious if your brother got home safely from yesterday's meeting," inquired Mustang as he took Alphonse's invitation and sat down on the sofa.

"No sir," said Alphonse, sitting down as well. "I think he stayed at the dorms yesterday. Why?"

Mustang's eyebrows shot up. "I told him to stay at home; I just didn't think he'd stick to my advice."

Both men laughed at the comment, thinking of how riled up Edward would be if he heard it. Then Mustang noticed two bags next to the sofas. He sent Alphonse an inquiring glance, and Alphonse turned to see his brother's suitcase and another, rather _pink_, suitcase.

He shrugged, and said: "I have no idea. He sent them yesterday, and it's been just sitting there waiting for the owner to come. He may have bought a new suitcase as well, but like I said, I have absolutely no idea _why_ he chose a _pink_ one."

Mustang smirked, leaning almost habitually into his knuckles. "The office is going to have a field day with this," he said, mostly to himself, as he looked at the very girlish huge pink suitcase.

Then he noticed the reddish stain at the rims of Edward's suitcase.

"I think it's about time Fullmetal changed his bag," he commented, standing up, "it's stained everywhere with I don't want to know what-" he cut short, freezing on the spot.

"Really?" Alphonse said, getting up as well, "I don't think he could have done much damage to it yet; I just bought it for him for his birthday about two weeks ago- what's wrong?"

Mustang didn't answer, but walked stiffly towards Edward's suitcase, grabbed it, and swung it on the small table in front of the sofa, ignoring Alphonse's surprised cry as blood spattered on the floor and the table.

"What the- What's going on?!" Alphonse exclaimed. Mustang continued to ignore him, but the younger man's eyes widened in alarm when he gave a cry when he opened the bag and saw what was inside. Mustang slammed the bag close, and hauled it up and out of Alphonse's reach, marching towards the door.

Before he reached it, though, he was stopped by Alphonse who blocked the way, arms stretched apart.

"Move, Alphonse." Mustang said.

"Tell me what is going on," Alphonse replied, eyes wide with unknown fear and uncertainty. "Tell me, what the hell, is my brother's bag containing."

"Move."

Mustang moved to push the other man away, but Alphonse caught the bleeding bag instead.

"Tell me why it's bleeding," Alphonse pleaded, eyes watering. "Please."

Mustang bit his lips, but pushed Alphonse away. "I'm sorry," he said, his own eyes tearing up, startling the other. Alphonse's grip loosened, and Mustang slipped away through the door, Edward's bag in his hands growing redder as blood continued to drip down on the pavement.

* * *

(1) Dorsei Week is a 7 day holiday for the Amestrians to spend as family, which makes everyone absent to work, of course, except for few doctors in hospital emergency rooms, the basic military personnel who didn't ask for the week off. Also known as the week when the most accidents, and surprisingly the least crime, happen. This leaves the military to deal with patients who don't have too serious of an injury, which halves what small portion of the force the HQ has during that week, and therefore leaving more work to others who don't know first aid, and thus having Mustang silently swear to dispose of the holiday once he becomes fuhrer. This week is not an actual holiday. This is an entire week I just made up out of the blue. Hahahahahahahahahah-

* * *

**Finally!! A work that I'm happy with! :D Well, not that happy, cause this ended somewhat as a cruel deathfic again, but at least this had lots of blood and pain and Edward was conscious enough to feel the pain this time……. This feels a lot like chapter three. lol. Jenny Coy is a person I made up, and is not real. Hahahah. Actually, Jenny is my name, so I guess it comes a lot from myself. XD I'm not saying I'd kill for something like hair. I love my hair, and I like it sitting on my head, attached to my scalp. But~~~ I guess I _am _a bit obsessive with hair… I guess. Somewhat. Maybe. Anyways. Thanks for the idea, chris3169512, and lots of help, especially from Narutolovesme2, although I didn't quite use her hairballs.**

**Anyways, I'm currently under much stress of spending my summer in an academy _learning_, and so I may or may not come to this site…… cause this, well, the base written 1 in the morning, having courses from 8 30 to 7 00, and spending half an hour traveling, AND three hours of homework, I'm going to sleep for a day – AGAIN – if I possibly could – and which I know I can't – after I'm done posting this.**

**I remind you that this will be updated randomly, whenever I please and whenever I get an idea, so if you want updates, please leave reviews, preferably some inspiring suggestions. Also, I do not own FMA, or any other characters I may or may not put in, except for the OCs or some other other-worldly things like non-existent holidays, which I assure everyone are all from my imagination unless stated otherwise. I also remind you that this is supposed to be a torture fic, or something similar to it, I assume. Prolly have lots of deaths, cause I'm just like that. Ed was supposed to live, somehow, in this chapter, but I somehow twisted into something very twisted.**

**…**

**Okay, now I _know_ I need sleep.**

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* * *

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**Edit: Hello people... I'm … saying that I may not be able to update much…. Or at all the coming academic year. It's my last in my highschool year, and I really will have to concentrate on my scores, especially because it's been going down. My mom promised me to stop whatever participation I've been doing to Fanfiction, Comics, and Deviantart… for one year. So… I'm going to stop…….. but I'm going to try to write, and update, as much as I can, whenever I get the chance. However, I think my sporadic updates will be … even rarer, …. so.…. yeah. I'm sorry. Especially to BrowncoatGrl, who … volunteered to beta my fics…. Just the day before I finished the chapter. And because I don't think I'll be able to update ……… while waiting for BrowncoatGrl to beta … and not… get caught.**

**I'm really sorry.**

**I really am.**

**But I promise, I _will _come back.**

**Mrawgirl09**


	6. ID

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 6: ID**

* * *

_"What are you talking about?" (1)_

_Ed's face was as hard as stone, his eyes wide with surprise as Alphonse stood standing, fists clenched._

_"What if 'I' am just some robot you invented, programmed by you, to work and think this way?!" Alphonse yelled, just as Edward slammed his fist on the table, sending the bottle of milk crashing onto the floor._

_As the room settled into an uncomfortable silence, both brothers remained immobile, even as Brosch and Ross entered the room. _

_"… Was that what was bothering you all this time?" Edward whispered quietly, his face turning dark. _

_Alphonse didn't answer._

_Ed's already shaky smile faltered, and looked down onto the scattered pieces of bread on his plate. _

_"So… it was that all along…"_

_"Brother-I-" _

_"Don't worry Alphonse," said Edward, as he pushed the table away and approached his brother. When Ed reached to hug him however, Al took a step back away from his touch. In everyone's bewilderment, Alphonse moved, not back towards his brother, but turning away and facing the wall. _

_Edward hesitated before settling his outstretched hands onto the back of the steel plate of his armored brother._

_"I'll give you your body back, I promise."_

_With that, Edward left the silent room, walking past the surprised Winry and Hughes. Brosch and Ross exchanged worried looks before Ross ran after the elder and Brosch stepped in and closed the door, leaving Hughes and Winry to wonder what had just happened._

_Alphonse felt numb for the first time ever since he became, or for as long as he could remember _existing_, an armor. What he imagined as feelings in his mind and through the empty limbs of his 'prison' disappeared suddenly. _

_"Am I really just a robot?"_

* * *

Static roared throughout the dark room, irritating the skin of the people inside it as alchemy poured out of the sigil in vapor. Edward coughed the chemical stench out of his lungs, squinting through the thick smoke for the huge black silhouette of Alphonse's armor. Trying to move his newly-found flesh limbs, he crawled around, hands outstretched to feel for his brother.

Ed started when he suddenly heard a loud clang towards his right, tripping on his feet and falling backwards. The metal suit had crumpled down into a heap, as if the framework that held it together had been destroyed.

At that thought, Ed's face blanched. "Al!! Alphonse!!" He yelled, and moved – crawled – furiously towards the heap of metal, lifting large pieces with his left hand and shriveled right, searching for his little brother.

Ed almost jumped with joy when he heard the tiny sound from the darkness below.

"Bro-" - it coughed - "Brother?"

Edward's small, withered body literally swelled when he heard his brother call for him, and reached inside with his good hand into the armor, dragging out a small boy of no older than perhaps fourteen.

"You're okay!!" exclaimed Edward, pulling the boy into a bear hug. Al coughed uncomfortably as he felt the deathly cold and dry skin of Ed's right arm on his bare back, but Edward didn't budge. "The transmutation worked!!! You're a full human!!" Alphonse shuddered as he felt the callous hands–_hand_ of his brother-_Edward_ brush through his darker golden hair; his every sense tingled from their new-found sensation throughout his body, and it somehow bothered him, especially when Edward uttered his next words. "You're not a tin man anymore!!"

Alphonse froze up, and deathly stillness settled in the room as the smokes and alchemy around them cleared up.

"…What do you mean; full human?" murmured Alphonse.

Edward almost didn't believe his ears. "… What?"

"What do you mean by 'full human'?" repeated Alphonse, as he pulled back from Edward, gold boring into gold.

Ed blinked, and frowned, his lips unconsciously forming a scowl from the frustration of the same identical arguments the brothers had been in during the four years of their quest. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about that-"

"Tell me!!"

Startled, but not surprised, of Alphonse's outburst, Ed sighed and _tried _to explain to his brother, with minimal usage of words which Al would misinterpret, yet again.

"It means that the transmutation worked, Alphonse," he said, staring into the distrusting eyes. "You're not a tin man without a heart." He hugged his brother again, this time harder, tighter, mustering and pouring all his love and care for Alphonse and hoping that the other would feel it.

"You are a boy-" he began again, "a warm blooded, flesh-and-bone human, not a homunculus, not a chimera, a human," Al didn't respond, still taking in all of the information.

"My brother."

"My one and only little brother," said Edward. "Alphonse."

Said brother didn't make a sound, but he couldn't help but shudder as a chill ran down his spine.

* * *

It was a shock to everyone, for both the Rockbells and Mustang's office, that Edward decided to stay in the military even after they got their body back.

It was even more of a shock, that Edward decided to lock Alphonse up in their house.

Ed shocked the people again by starting to wear the military standardized uniform.

And then by stopping to react to short comments.

And by one day coming in with bandaged arms; both his old and new arms as pale as ghost.

He stopped smiling; not to Hawkeye, or to Winry.

He stopped arguing with Mustang.

He asked for a desk job at the investigations department in turn for his field work.

Edward's wounds became a norm, his bandages on his arm his new trademark, a tired, thoughtful frown his favorite expression.

Ed finally stopped the shocking changes and went on with his life exactly in the way he despised the most in the past: sluggish monotonous routine.

Edward, to those who knew him even remotely, had become a corpse.

* * *

"Are you okay, Edward?" asked Captain Riza Hawkeye, for the umpth time this week, as they strode down the corridor of Central Headquarters.

"Huh?" replied Ed intelligently.

"You have another bruise on your cheek," elaborated Hawkeye, pressing on the bruise for emphasis, "and don't say that it's from your sparring with your brother, Edward." She stopped walking, halting the other as well. "What happened? Did you two fight again?"

"…" Edward didn't answer, silently rubbing his cheek where a black bruise was clearly visible through skin-tone-_obvious_ make up.

As Ed apparently decided to keep quiet about it yet again, Hawkeye prodded gently. Perhaps … "Is it the usual argument?"

"… It's…" He began, "none of your business, Captain."

Hawkeye's face hardened again, returning to her stoic, official mask as Edward raised his defense mechanism called 'Pulling Rank'.

They started down the corridor again, silently until the Major suddenly spoke up, "When is the information I've asked for coming?"

"It's hard to find after the fire at the local military HQ, but we'll probably have some information by the day after tomorrow, _sir_." Hawkeye glanced briefly sideways, as Edward scowled and flinched, though almost unnoticeably, at the pronounced title.

As they reached Brigadier-General Mustang's office, he turned to her, nodding briefly as he bid his goodbye.

"Thank you, Hawkeye."

With that, he turned on his heels and marched away towards his own office on the other side of the wing.

Captain Hawkeye stared at the blue-uniformed back of the once confident, outrageous boy who was always accompanied by a seven-foot tall armor. She then sighed, wondering just how those boys ever managed to get themselves into a relationship of almost mutual hate.

She turned to the doors, staring at them briefly before entering.

"… Whatever you say, Edward."

* * *

"I'm home," shouted Edward, slamming the front door of their house - yes, _house_. "Al?"

There was no response, and although it had always been a common occurrence, Ed still tensed up, his eyes searching every dark corner for a hopeful silhouette of Alphonse, even if his brother only hid there to attack him.

"Al?"

No response.

Edward began to panic, again. He checked the second door, which he sometimes locked it with alchemy, just in case Alphonse became too volatile and had just run out the door. It was locked tight, and it still only opened when Edward managed a complicated set of three dimensional alchemic runes at specific places on the door.

"Alphonse?"

He jogged to the kitchen - after relocking the door, of course - where Al usually got his weapons, only to find it empty apart from the usual mess from the upturned table, broken dishes and pancakes that Ed had made earlier that day on the floor.

He skidded into the dark living room, where he found only papers strewn about, along with maybe one or two alchemical circles that Alphonse attempted to unlock the windows.

He then ran up the stairs, unconsciously slamming open Al's room's door, panicking even further as he found it empty.

He opened the door to his room, suspecting the boy ready to ambush him again as he walked into the space. Empty.

Nearly hysterical, Ed ran to the bathroom, begging whatever that let the brothers have their bodies back that Al wasn't doing what he thought he saw his brother do.

He opened the door, the blinding white light momentarily giving him white spots to blink at. Ed found Alphonse crouching at a far corner of the tiled room, his head dipped into his arms.

Edward let out a sigh of relief, "There you are," he said, approaching Alphonse steadily, "what were you doing?"

Al didn't reply.

Intending to shake him, just in an unlikely case that his brother was asleep, Ed reached out with his hand, only to be slapped away by Al, who jumped away from him in a leap.

"Alphonse-"

"Don't _touch_ me!!" Alphonse yelled, his golden eyes shining almost yellow. "Just leave me alone!!"

The boy then ran out of the bathroom, into his room, slamming and locking the door behind.

"Okay," Edward sighed as he faintly heard the sizzle of Alchemy behind the door. "I'll go start on dinner."

* * *

After he finished putting the plates onto the table, Edward called for his brother.

"Alphonse!"

He sighed as silence responded his call, and felt somewhat reminded of how he was giving Alphonse immensely the patience he knew he did not have.

It was still quite early outside; the sun had only just sunk below horizon and people were still getting ready for dinner. Ed silently praised himself of his ability to cook well and quick – and it was as early as 6: 15, plenty of time to try to persuade Alphonse to eat – and trudged towards' Al's room to get his brother, silently clapping his hands to open the door. Again.

"Alphonse?"

He knocked, not wanting to get hit by the mechanical pencil-sharpener again, and frowned slightly as he heard shuffling from the room. Edward slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door, revealing a pitch black room where he couldn't see anything except of vague silhouettes from his memory.

"Al?"

He reached inside, trying to grasp at nothing, until he found his senses and pressed the light switch. However, when the light came on, he was greeted with Alphonse, his golden eyes gleaming in an eerie way, his right hand clutching at his bleeding right. _Bleeding_.

"Alphonse!"

Ed ran to his brother, prying away Al's hand from the bleeding wrist, revealing deep, clean cuts marring his pale skin.

"What are you doing here?! Get out!!"

Despite Alphonse's strong protest, Ed kept his grip on his brother's wound, applying pressure in an attempt at closing the wound.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" he yelled, "What is wrong with you?!"

Alphonse managed to push Ed away, blood spattering onto the walls in reaction.

"What's wrong with me? What's _wrong_ with me? Just leave me alone!! Why don't you just leave me already?! You've already finished your experiment!!"

Ed flinched visibly. Even after years of exact same arguments between him and his brother, this probably was their most acerbic.

"Let me _leave!!_"

"I told you again and again-"

"If what you told me before is true then I'm a full grown _man_!! I've been eighteen years old for more than half a year!!"

"Your _body_ isn't!!!" Ed yelled, finally having had of the charade of convincing and distrust.

Al gritted his teeth.

Before he could say anything, however, Ed began the tirade.

"You don't look a day older than what, sixteen?!"

"How do I know that I'm actually eighteen then-?!"

"Just go to the fucking _bathroom_ then – _look_ in the freaking mirror-!!"

"And you said I looked twelve just about two weeks ago-!!"

"And _I _keep on telling you that your body is still growing from the effects of the Gate – you're the one-!!"

"Oh yeah, right, like _that_ is any more believable than you actually being my brother – my body is still growing, _sure_!! A likely excuse-!!"

"It's not a damn excuse, and you know what we did together -!!"

"I was about to quit, but it was you who dragged me everywhere, promising me each time my life-"

Both Elrics were now getting more and more irritated at each other, each spewing the identical arguments they'd made in the past, their voices rising steadily in a dangerous crescendo.

"And you _got_ it! I kept my promise and-"

"You promised me my _life_!! My _life_ isn't my _body_ and I want to go _out_ there, get a job maybe, and just _live_ the _hell away_ from-"

"You can't have a job without something to prove that you exist, and I kept telling you that I'm trying to get-"

"MY personal ID, the one which you forged, and then threw away in your study?! Don't think I don't go anywhere besides-"

"That's because by the time I finished it for your nine-year old body you looked _goddamn 4 years _older than your age on the pape_r_-!!"

"Oh, and it's _my _fault now?! What are you going to tell me next week when I'm _supposedly _looking like the age I am?!"

"You will be and you will be gone as soon as your real personal documents-"

"There you go, another-"

"IT'S NOT A DAMN _EXCUSE_!!!"

The loud crack of palm hitting flesh echoed through the dimly-lit hallways outside, waking the two furious teens out of their angry outbursts.

Edward and Alphonse stared at each other as they processed individually what had just happened. As realization dawned on him, Ed paled, then reddened, then turned pallid again, his body shaking not unlike a leaf in a storm.

Alphonse had also come out of his daze and was glaring murderously at the man in front of him.

"A-Al I-I-I-" stuttered Edward, his voice cracking at the thought of his actually slapping the boy as if he, Edward, was superior to Alphonse. Although he did emphasize it in previous years, it was merely to show the world who the real elder brother was; not once had Ed thought himself anything other than Alphonse's equal. His hand snapped out in impulse, Edward told himself, but it didn't change the fact that he'd defied a silent, golden rule between the Elric brothers.

"You're not my _brother_," spat Alphonse, slowly approaching Edward, who stepped backwards away from him, "to me, you're more like a jail guard. Or a kidnapper."

The words crashed down onto the elder Elric, freezing the world around him. His eyes watered, his limbs felt weak, his heart were ripped to shreds and left in the dust. The slam of Al's door and the alchemic shriek behind it didn't register through the thick ringing of his ears as he turned away and staggered dangerously down the stairs, through the two doors and out into the street.

In his stupor Ed didn't even turn to lock – to _close_ – the doors, leaving them to clatter noisily in the wind, his second-mind autopilot kicking in and leading him towards his usual hiding hole.

* * *

"You are unbelievable, Boss," commented Jean Havoc as he looked down at Ed, who was ignoring the other man and was obviously very, _very_ drunk.

It was a perfectly fine thursday night, already way past midnight, when Jean had just begun to finally get it going with a pretty redhead when he caught sight of the younger blonde; so, naturally, under Mustang's orders, he had to make sure Edward wasn't about to drown himself in alcohol.

He sat down on a stool next to the younger man, scooping the cup from his loose grip and pushing it far out of Ed's reach. Edward remained silent, but grabbed the bottle next to him and glared at the man, as if a total stranger just came up and slapped him in the face. Then, in sudden realization, he automatically greeted in his own way as he did for the past few months.

"How'z-zeh-"

"Tomorrow, Boss," Havoc cut him off before Ed could finish his sentence, grimacing at the strong smell of alcohol, "if you can make it to the office."

"Whaz?!" Ed's eyes immediately widened, and jumped out of his stool, swaying dangerously as he stared up at Havoc. "Are you-u s-s-s-shure?"

Jean couldn't help but smile wearily at his colleague; no one ever had the chance to see the bright, happy, practically glowing and _true,_ smile from the other for the past four years.

"Yeah, so drop that bottle." Ed grinned so giddily that he seemed almost sober, but every swaying of his body told the world how far his mind was flushed out.

"How many did you have anyways?"

"Two bottles of whiskey," said Ed. He climbed up on the stool again, and reached for the snack-meal.

Jean whistled, "And to think you got drunk over half a cup when you began-"

"-and three bottles o' this new stuff-ff called sake-h-h from X-x-Sching and one bottle of soju from S-s-silly… no uh… Shilling… Sillah … w-w-whatever."

Edward giggled, popped a small piece of fried fish into his mouth, and laughed again at Havoc's expression.

Shaking his head, Jean got off the stool and wrapped one of Ed's arms around his neck and headed towards the exit after signaling the bartender to put it on the younger man's tab. "I hope you know where your keys are, Ed."

* * *

As they neared the house, Jean's eyes widened at the sight of the wide-open doors, the alchemic one and the normal one – as he knew from past experiences of taking a drunken Edward home – and hurried towards it, cursing every step.

Slamming both doors behind him, Jean hoped to god that Alphonse didn't leave, not only for his sake, but mostly his brother's. He dumped the drunken body unceremoniously onto the couch, glaring half-heartedly at the green bottle that didn't seem to leave the other blonde's hand.

Hearing a crash and a curse from the floor above, however, Jean let out a relieved sigh and safely assumed that Al never bothered to come down for the past how many hours. He looked sideways at the small clock hanging from the wall and silently groaned as it pointed 4:12. So long for a good night's sleep. Now he'd have to worry more about how long of a lecture he was going to get from Roy and Riza. Probably from Armstrong as well.

He groaned again, this time audibly.

Ed shifted from his position on the couch. The brat was snoring by now and still didn't let go of the damned bottle of soju or whatever it was.

Sighing, he found a stray piece of paper and pen – which was easy from the mess on the floor – and advised the younger blonde –_again_– to stay at home for the day, get something to eat, get rid of the _goddamn _bottle, somehow revive his liver and at least show up for a few minutes at HQ to pick up the files he so desperately wanted.

Satisfied with the note, Jean left it underneath a glass of water in front of Ed's sleeping face, and walked out of the doors, quietly closing them behind him and heading for his own abode.

* * *

Ed woke up just after Havoc had left, his paranoid senses telling him to lock the doors. He reluctantly got up from the couch, and staggered towards the kitchen, thinking of getting a glass of water. Then, he suddenly remembered his brother, and turned his direction towards Al's chamber. If it was locked, then it was probably safe.

As Edward reached the top of the stairs, he was tackled by a golden-brown blob, right at his waist. He didn't fall, although that seemed to be the attacker's aim. He tried to grab at the other with his right hand, but found it already occupied holding a bottle of unfinished soju, and so twisted his left hand to yank one of the arms away from him by the wrist.

Al made a yelp of pain, and the fact that it was Alphonse barely registered in Ed's brain when he saw a smidgeon of blood seeping out of pristine white bandages on his brother's wrist.

"Damn it, that _hurts_!!" yelled Al, trying to pry the other man's fingers off his wounds. Edward didn't relent, however, and in his alcohol-induced unrestricted anger the force he put in his hands kept on increasing.

"I _told_ you-ou to s-s-stop it," growled Ed, his unfocused eyes somehow glaring sadly at the teen before him. "yeh finally got y-yer body b-back from four-r years of being a soul trapped in a armor and yeh're damage-damage-ing it by c-cutting yerself-"

"And you're a lying drunk," spat Alphonse, still clawing at the hand. After a while, he sighed, and straightened himself.

Al glared at Ed, hatred showing glaringly in his eyes.

Alphonse hated his 'brother's life; he hated his empty eyes, he hated his sickly pale complexion, the infinitely miserable expression that never left his face, and Edward knew it.

"Let me go," Al demanded.

"I can't," Ed whispered, all of the lilts gone.

"Let. Go."

"J-just one more day… please…" Ed's eyes became wet with tears, his expression miserable to pitiful begging. Alphonse's mind merely filed it away into another reason to hate the man.

"One."

"Al…" Edward started sobbing.

"Two." Alphonse gritted his teeth.

The brothers fell into silence, tension high in the air. It was broken by a hitched gasp from Ed, which Alphonse immediately responded with a punch at his face, his knuckles making a sickening but satisfying _crunch_ from the jaws.

Edward staggered back.

One step, his eyes were wide in surprise. Alphonse was immobilized for a second, seeing for the first time in days the golden orbs shining beautifully, free from its shadows.

Two steps, his footing was messed up. Al merely watched in fascination as Edward's legs bent in seemingly impossible angles trying to stand up properly.

There wasn't a third step as Edward fell onto the stairs, head first.

* * *

Everything happened within the second Ed's head collided with the top staircase.

_Scrunch._

The back of Ed's head caved in as the back of his skull was crushed to dust.

_Snap._

His head was then slipped sideways, leaving his neck exposed to the edge of the stairs, breaking through the ligaments and snapping the cervical spine into two parts.

_Crunch-pop_

As his neck twisted away from the next surface, his right shoulder came in crashing, dislocating the shoulder.

_Flop-crack-crack-crack-crunch_

Unfortunately, the dislocated arm flopped straight down the stairs, and was smashed in four areas as the rest of the body fell onto it.

_Snap-kr-creak-tack_

His left hand was still somehow holding onto the green bottle, and it got stuck at a small space between the balusters, snapping the arm in the twisting process.

­_Creang-ta-ta-ta-ta-_

The broken body stayed still for half a second before the glass bottle broke and threw its shards everywhere.

_Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-_

Edward's body kept on rolling down, glass pieces digging into his back and abdomen in the process.

_Thump._

Finally reaching the floor, Ed laid motionless, his limbs twisted in all angles around him and his wide golden orbs staring at the air.

_Crash._

The bottom half of the bottle decided to fall of the stairs as well, smashing onto the floor like a green flower added onto the bloody painting of a broken … corpse.

* * *

Alphonse remained motionless, eyes wide, hands shaking as he looked down upon the bloody scene downstairs. He felt his legs tremble, but he forced them to move downstairs, towards the death, and to the freedom over it. His eyes subconsciously led towards the kitchen, desperately willing anything sharp or dangerous to fly towards him and be something of a relief from his bare vulnerability.

He managed to arrive at the fourth staircase when he caught movement from the edge of his vision. Snapping his eyes up, Alphonse stared fearfully at the supposed corpse twitch a bloody finger – no, _fingers_. He felt his hair stand on end when _it_ called out – whispered out – his name, and even more so when _its_ eyes rolled lazily around and stopped at him, wide golden orbs staring into Alphonse's own.

Al blinked away from the stare, but he knew that _it_ was still watching him. He looked back at _it_, which was still staring back at him, still full of emotions of sadness, misery, surprise, – _hatred? _– and slowly lowered himself onto the staircase, sitting down, and staring into the frighteningly mesmerizing wide golden pools.

As time went by – Al didn't, _couldn't, _tell if it were seconds or days or millennia – the emotions in the rich golden screen disappeared one by one.

The eyes retracted a bit as Edward realized what had just happened. Surprise was gone.

Sadness was gone right after that when Edward realized it was Alphonse who made it happen.

Hatred was immediately replaced by guilt, to Al's confusion.

Guilt gave way to the ever-present misery.

Misery was distilled to sorrow, and so on.

* * *

Minutes after the last of the emotions disappeared from Ed's eyes, Al stood up, staring at the unnerving eyes that didn't follow his movements anymore.

Running down and over the dead body, Alphonse slammed the alchemical door with his body weight, which surprisingly did open, and ran out of the house after alchemizing the lock into the door.

The chilly air in the early morning was numb to his body, even as the warm blood covering his bare feet started to cool and dry from their exposure to cold air.

"Help!!" Al cried, sobbed, even, "Someone help my brother!! Ed- he- he's dieing-he's dead-!!"

Tears fell onto the street and rocks dug into his bloody feet, but Alphonse kept on running, towards where he hoped he remembered right was Central HQ.

"Help!! Somebody!!"

He cried in guilt for his stupidity, stubbornness and outright _cruelty_ he demonstrated in the past.

"Please!!..."

Alphonse was touched by the guilt that haunted _his brother_; now he was going to have to carry it to his death.

"Help..."

And he only realized the weight of the guilt that his brother always carried when he saw the last emotion to pass the golden eyes.

_Love._

* * *

**Yeah, I wanted to do this for the longest of times. I actually had the idea from another comic, which had a side story from which I got this chapter from. It was actually about a 11~15 year old girl watching her abusive alcoholic uncle die after another day of beating. Twisted a _lot_, so I'm just disclaiming the idea of how Edward dies. No, the details weren't there, I made it up.**

**It turned out … weird. I didn't have the crying-Alphonse part in the original plan, but hey, it suits the brothers. This was really hard to write, especially because it dealt more on emotional torture (and death) than physical, like I'm used to. _Especially_ trying to write it during my ban, I might add.**

**I didn't stray too much from the usual gore, because I just thought some might still was physical wreck as well, but if not, I still wanted it in it somewhere.**

**I'm not going to write an epilogue (_ahem_nrtlm2_humhum_) like others because it's better to leave stories like this one just _there_, I think. Especially one that's just based on angst and not much humor.**

**Well, I still would like to thank AliasAurora for her suggestion of The Tell-Tale Heart, because that's where I got my inspiration of writing this story!! :D**

**PS. I got my first wound after arriving in America. My cousin's dogs really need to clip their nails. Ack! It's bleeding again.**

**Will update whenever possible,**

**Mrawgirl09**


	7. Elastic

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 7: Elastic**

* * *

Ed trudged along the white, sparsely populated corridor of Central Headquarters. As usual, he could hear the murmurs surrounding him, making him glance around inadvertently in reaction. They would hide their faces, and silence for a while, waiting for him to pass, but he'd know their mocking smiles, smirks, stifled laughter slipping through their fingers.

They would talk about his hair, his beautifully flowing golden hair, no matter how unkept he made it look, would always end up in some story involving it draping 'like a golden waterfall' over a sweat-drenched pillow.

They would talk about his eyes, the intelligent, _big_, _innocent_ golden eyes that would shine like the metal in the 'heat of passion', never mind the dark circles.

His 'full lips' that would surely glow pink and fuller when it would be sucked by this guy or another. No one saw the red worried wounds all over said lips, bleeding every occasional while.

Ed sighed. No matter how hideous he looked, 'they'd always think it was because of a meeting with his 'secret lover' during a 'cross dressing' he didn't even know about.

He passed the main hall. He always hated that part of the HQ.

Well, not really always. There was once the time when he didn't hate being in the building, but that… at least in his mind, was long ago.

He entered the Central court, where he suppressed the urge to hide, covering his ears away from the increased faint laughs from the other side of the small park. His feet unconsciously sped up towards the doors to Hell's Keeper.

And it all started with a stupid conversation about a year ago.

* * *

"You never even kissed a girl before, did you?" asked Jean Havoc, flipping the ash off his cigarette.

The office was almost empty, except for Havoc and E. Elric, who, as usual, had finished with their lunches faster than everyone else.

"I don't- why does this matter, anyways?!" huffed back Edward, crossing his arms.

"Do you even look at girls?"

"What's so special about them?! They're _just_ girls!!"

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, my little friend," smirked Jean, crossing his arms.

"I'm not little!!"

"They have _boobs_!!" Ignoring the gaping (and blushing) smaller blonde, Jean continued with a wistful grin. "They're so soft to your touch, and the way they mold to your body-"

"That is sick," interrupted Edward with a punch to Jean's side. Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "What's so wrong about a man's body?"

And he very well shouldn't have.

"You're gay?!" shouted Havoc, his cigarette falling onto the wooden floor.

Ed's eyes widened as big as a plate. "What?! No!!"

"Then you-"

"I just don't see what's so wonderful about a woman's body and what's so … so _not_ about a man's!!" Ed huffed again and crossed his arms. Never mind the blush that stained his cheeks.

Jean didn't speak for a full minute. Shaking his head, he snapped out of his stupor and stepped on the still-lit cigarette before it singed the floor any more that it already had.

"… I guess you are kinda just uninterested in all of this, huh?" asked Jean, pulling out another one of his cancer-sticks.

"I don't see any reason to be," snapped Ed, still blushing, "it's just a waste of time."

"Sex is not a waste of time, Ed!! Do you even know your sexuality?"

The response was immediate.

"What?!" Jean nearly dropped his lighter at the sudden outburst. In consequence, he lost a few layers of skin on his left hand.

"Shit, you're _sixteen_, Ed!! You can't_ not _be interested in girls!!" exclaimed Jean, trying to cool his hand in the air. "What happened to Rockbell girl?"

"She's dating another guy back in Risembool," mumbled Ed, looking away.

Why did people think that he and Winry were dating, anyways? It wasn't like they told any one, and it wasn't like Winry changed her boyfriends every month. Who was it this time… Drake, was it?

"Oh," said Jean simply, looking sympathetically at a confused Edward. "Heartbreak. I see. It must be tough-"

"_No_, it's _not_ heartbreak, Havoc." Ed growled despite his effort not to."Why is it so surprising that I'm just not interested in any kind of relationship?"

"It's important for you to have a relationship, Chief!" exclaimed the lieutenant, flapping his arms in exasperation. "Hanging only around your brother so much isn't good for you."

Ed snorted, and walked towards the door, throwing his hands around exaggeratedly, mimicking the other. "Whatever, I love Al, I just like to spend my time with-" he stopped talking when his automail got caught on his elastic holding his hair together.

"Damn it, stupid elastic."

Jean smirked at the late-teen pulling at his hair irritatedly and finally moved to help when the elastic gave way.

_Snap_

"Whoa," gaped Jean. Edward ruffled his hair out of his usual braid, muttering curses about 'stupid weak elastic bands'.

Upon noticing the shocked stare, Ed glared up. "What?"

"You with long hair really looks… _girly_," said Jean, still staring dumbly as Ed's expression turned from irritated to pissed.

"I do _not_ look girly!!" shouted Ed, shaking his fist as a threat.

"Uh, yeah you do," commented another voice as the rest of the office came back from lunch.

"No one asked you, Breda!!" snapped Edward, to which Breda shrugged and sat at his desk.

"Al likes long blondes, right?" continued Jean, ignoring the others. His face then turned green. "… Are you in love with your-"

Ed's face turned pale green. "Ew!! NO!!"

"But you're _so_ like the stereotypical uke!!" exclaimed Jean. (1)

"What the hell is that?!"

Breda snickered and participated in the Ed tortu-ahem, _discussion_. "A tsundere," he ticked off. (2)

"I don't even know what that means!!" protested Ed.

"Short," added Falman, grinning.

"I'm not short!!"

"Short-tempered," counted Jean.

"I'm NOT SHORT!!!"

"Pretty face," said Hawkeye, passing by with an armful of paperwork.

"I-!!"

"Long hair," laughed Feury as he sat down at his desk, watching amusedly at the three.

"That's not fair-!!" Ed paled and clutched his braid to the nape of his neck protectively.

"Don't forget that he blushes a lot," snickered Mustang as he closed the office door, "and he has big eyes, and a big mouth, if you catch what I mean."

Everyone except Hawkeye and Elric laughed at that.

"What?"

"Innocent," continued Havoc, grinning like a fool at the young blonde's confusion.

"You're like the perfect girl-type gay guy!!" exclaimed Breda.

Ed couldn't, didn't stand any more. "I'm not GAY!!!"

* * *

… And so the rest just rolled up into a giant snowball.

The office kept on teasing him about being girly in addition to being short, and eventually the joke spread throughout the military and started rumors he _didn't_ want to even think about.

However… no matter how much he knew that the rumors were false, no matter how much he was sure that he was straight, after a few months of constant badgering of many people with their own 'logical explanations' of his own actions, observed throughout a long period of time, he came to the point where he was actually considering that he was in denial.

And the worst part was that he didn't even know his own sexual preferences he could use to his defense.

He had met many beautiful women in his life, including Winry, but none of them gave him a spark, not even an interest as though what he should have had when he heard Alphonse swoon about his own girlfriend.

Which eventually led Edward so deep into his misery that he actually started watching people from afar to see if any of them caught his attention any more than he thought necessary.

A few days after he started losing sleep over the problem, Edward ventured into a popular park.

* * *

"I'm not…" he kept on muttering, almost as a habit since the argument, as he watched many women and men prance around with less than modest amount of cloth over their bodies. "Why don't I…"

"Hey," came a voice from his side.

Ed looked up and saw a cute, Xingian-looking girl glaring down at him. She had short hair that rounded her head like a ball, and wore an almost childish sundress that screamed immature. A jewel of her family, presumed Edward. Then he noticed that she was talking. "-and then I saw you check my friend out, so, she's like-"

Ed let the girl blabber on, and looked past said girl to find another, a redhead, who blushed as their eyes met. She was one of the girls he kept on staring at for the past few hours. A pretty face, nice body; she fit the description of 'beautiful', objectively speaking.

She even had many others staring, drooling even.

And yet he still felt nothing.

Ed stopped the girl in front of him by lifting one of his hands. "Uhm… sorry about staring, but I'm not interested in anything." _Unfortunately,_ he reminded himself. He noted that the red-haired girl looked away, frowning in disappointment.

"W-Well then you should stop being a pervert and looking at others, then!!" snapped the girl in front of him, snapping his attention back towards her. She was fuming, to say the least. Her face was red with embarrassment and justified anger, and in her hands was a-a mallet?!- that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Now you broke her heart!! Pervert!" (3)

Before he had time to object, the mallet disappeared (_What the-_) and her hand reached his cheek, sounding a loud _slap_. Leaving the stunned man alone, the immaturely-dressed girl stomped away.

Ed's eyes were unfocused, and lolled about, until they reached a couple. He first looked at the girl. Good looking, rather pretty. Then he looked at the boy. Handsome, well built.

He sighed. Why was it that his opinions never went over scientific… impersonal terms?

How did it feel watching beautiful women and men?

Nothing.

How did it feel watching a gay couple making out behind a tree?

Nothing.

What did he feel about _his own body_?

_Nothing._

Ed shook his head. "I can't…" He couldn't think. There were too many people. Or too less.

Yes, there was too less people. It was already past dinnertime, and there were only some couple or another strolling peacefully around the park.

He'd have a better chance someplace else.

… Like a bar, perhaps.

* * *

Or not.

Ed sighed for the seventh time as he watched a female prostitute, a rather beautiful one actually, attempt to lure a man about Mustang's age and fail. He let his eyes loll around in disinterest, and didn't notice the woman move towards him until she spoke.

"Hello, handsome," she said, chuckling as Ed almost dropped his glass in surprise, "you look like you want a friend, for the night?"

"I-uh-" Ed felt embarrassed, stuttering in front of a lady like a fool… and it wasn't like he even liked her or anything. "… Sorry."

She stared at Edward with scrutinizing eyes, apparently confused about something. Then she made an enlightened expression.

"Oh, so you play for the other side?" she asked, much to Ed's horror.

"Uh-" He looked away, blushing. Did he really look like a homosexual person-?

The woman frowned and stared some more, then her eyes went wide and she slapped her hand on her mouth. "OH! Sorry, you a tomboy, huh? What are you doing here by your lonesome?" Ed felt his face redden in embarrassment. Was she taking him for a _girl_?! "Waiting for a prince to carry you off?"

Not able to take it any more, Edward jumped out of his stool, threw a wad of money on the counter for his drinks, and ran out into the night.

* * *

And somehow the story leaked. Of course. Ed cursed his luck.

He should have known more than to underestimate the State Gossip Network.

Edward reached the door to the Fuhrer's office. He ignored the giggles from the secretary's desk as he slammed the door behind him.

"Hello, Fem-metal." Ah yes. If the gossips didn't manage to do anything to him, at least it changed his State Title for the worse.

"For the last fucking time, I'm _not_ gay," mumbled Edward, more out of habit than in actual anger.

Mustang frowned ever so slightly at his response, but soon returned to his usual smirk. "I never said you were, you'd just look so cute in a miniskirt!"

"I do not," replied Edward dully. He wasn't in the mood to play along Mustang's little game. Actually, he wasn't in the mood of doing anything at all for the past month.

"You've gotten very boring these past few weeks, Fullmetal," said Mustang, pretending to work now that Edward wasn't as interesting as he thought would be, "why don't you just fetch me a package for the party tonight? It should arrive at my porch this evening. I need it for my speech."

Edward, drowning in his depressing thoughts, didn't hear Mustang call him to leave, and then getting up and shaking him out of his stupor.

He snappishly shrugged off Mustang's hands from his shoulders, much to the man's disapproval. "…Yessir," Ed whispered before turning towards the office door.

His arm was caught back.

Ed looked back, his dead yet shining golden eyes staring right back at Mustang's confused, so_ naïve_ black ones.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Mustang, his frown lined with worry. Ed snatched his arm away from the grip. "Hey, I was just asking."

"Don't touch me," snapped Ed, "I'm fine. 'M just tired."

"No shit," deadpanned Roy, crossing his arms, "you look like one. Go get some sleep before coming to the party."

Ed didn't reply, but instead stepped out of the office quietly.

"I don't have any makeup to cover your dark circles," added Mustang, smirking.

His answer was a resounding _Slam_ of the door.

Roy Mustang smiled.

Nothing was too out of normal.

Perhaps he was overreacting.

* * *

"I don't believe this," muttered Alphonse, looking around in the dark backstage. He could hear the party on the other side of the curtain. "I can't believe I'm doing this, against my own brother." Al shook his head and glared exasperatedly at the mastermind of it all. "Isn't it kinda harsh?"

"Nah Al," Jean shook his head from Mustang's side. "Chief's made of tougher stuff than that."

"It was either you or me, Alphonse," grinned Roy, "I think you have more of a chance of survival from this task."

Riza rolled her eyes. "You'll get killed anyways for pulling this stunt, Sir."

"I know, I know." Roy gestured away flippantly, "I can't help it; I'm just too much of a troublemaker for someone of my position."

"Someday you'll regret it, sir," warned Riza with a smirk, "and I'll be there laughing as you fall, crash and burn."

Jean mock-scoffed and Mustang faked faint. "I'm hurt, Hawkeye," said Roy, clutching his chest in mock-hurt, "would you really laugh at your own fuhrer?"

"Only when you deserve it," smirked Riza.

"So mean," replied Mustang, wearing his 'charming fuhrer' smile. He then noticed a familiar shade of gold somewhere in his peripheral vision.

"Ah, here comes the main event," smirked Mustang, "to your positions, people." He then disappeared through the curtain, reveling in the applause from the audience.

* * *

By the time Edward reached the stage where he was supposed to meet up with the fuhrer, everyone was gone, except for a certain Alphonse Elric.

"Hello everyone, enjoying the party so far?" asked Mustang, smirking at the audience. They all cheered. "Well, have I got a treat for you…"

"Al…" Ed's eyes widened as he recognized his baby brother. How long was it since they'd last meet? "Al…?"

"Hey brother… did you get the package?" Alphonse's voice was strangely low and tight.

The crowd cheered on noisily. "_Just behind this screen…_" That was Mustang's voice. What was he doing on the other side of the curtain, _not_ like he was supposed to be?

Ed turned his attention to Alphonse with a relieved smile. It was nice talking with one who wouldn't jeopardize his manliness, no matter how ridiculous it sounded.

"I got the package for Mustang- What are you doing in-"

"_I'd like to present…_"

Al clenched his eyes shut. "I'm sorry brother!!"

"_One of my best alchemists…_"

_Clap_

Ed's eyes went wide in shock as he understood what happened.

Betrayal.

"What-"

"_Edwardina Elric!!!_"

Alchemy flashed, and before Ed's eyes even blinked out the dominating white spots, he heard laughter. Many,_ many_ laughter.

"That's _priceless!!_"

No.

"Hahahah!! Fem-metal Alchemist, _heroine_ of the people!!"

Oh _no_.

"You're hot, Edwardina!!"

They didn't. _Al_ didn't.

"How much for a night?!"

The spots disappeared slowly, revealing a very huge mass of blue. All blue. Most were men, but there were numerous women in between. They were laughing.

All laughing. At him.

At _him_.

"Do us a strip dance, crossdresser!!"

Ed's eyes traveled slowly south, widening each inch as he saw the horror on his body.

Someone had replaced his black-leather clothing with a black and white dress shirt, ripped in several places and the divisions of the color defining painfully that it was meant for a woman. The black torsi on his arms were stretched from his shoulders from underneath the shirt to the knuckles of his hand, covering successfully the ugly scars and mechanics of an automail.

He saw a black and red plaid skirt on his hips, its checkered pattern standing out like a schoolgirl's skirt, uncomfortably high up his thighs. He saw the boots, the _high-heeled_ boots, wrapping snugly around his feet right up through his knee, making him wobble dangerously as he tried to balance himself. He didn't even need to talk about the black stockings he could feel scraping against his automail port.

Horrible.

But the audience didn't seem to think it.

They cheered on as he hobbled around, laughed when he accidentally fell on his face, and some took pictures of the fallen Fullmetal for future teasing.

And proof.

Proof that they were right.

Something in Ed's mind snapped.

The world went white, and everybody vanished.

In front of Edward, in the white abyss, was himself.

* * *

The crowd kept on laughing at the fallen alchemist, and though it was very funny, Jean couldn't help but feel bad for the kid.

Then he noticed Edward mumbling things to himself. "… . …. … … …."

"Eh… Chief?" Jean approached the girl-clothed boy, and his eyes widened at what demented fragments he could hear.

"No- Don't look at me-" Ed was mumbling, "stop laughing- I'm not-"

Jean sent a worried look at Riza and Roy, who looked back in confusion. Jean shook his head and reached for the other blonde when he heard it.

"Am I…?"

It sent a chill down his spine for the first time since Ishbal.

Ed fell silent, and that scared Jean even more. The crowd kept on laughing and making jokes. Mustang noticed the worried glances Jean sent to his direction, and stepped up to calm the audience down from the prank.

Jean, meanwhile, took up the job of calming the boy down. Hopefully.

"Chief?" asked Jean, reaching his hand towards Ed's shoulder, to 'wake' him up. Just as his hand touched the shoulder, he was thrown to his back on the stage, cradling a broken arm. "Gah!!"

The cheers went on, laughing as Edward 'performed' his famed 'temper tantrum'.

"Fullmetal?!" shouted Mustang, running onto the stage to Jean's side. "That was uncalled for-!!

Alphonse moved towards Edward, worry apparent on his face. The cheers dimmed. "Edward?"

Ed jumped away from the threat. He was a threat. But it was his brother. His brother had betrayed him. "Go away- get away from me-"

"Edward!! Wait!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" There were a few surprised shouts from the audience; some were still convinced that it was all an act, but some were beginning to doubt it.

"Edward!!"

"GET AWAY!!! GO AWAY!!!" Ed didn't really believe that it would make them step away from him, but it was worth a shot. "STAY AWAY!!!"

More was coming. The fat redhead and the small four eyes. He had to get away. They were going to-

"Ed!!"

Ed's eyes were wild, unseeing, as he flicked it between Riza and Alphonse.

Ed felt his hands shaking, but in adrenaline or fear, he did not know or care.

All he could see and feel was threat.

"Is it my hair?! Is that it?!" Everyone screamed when he started ripping his scalp off. Good. Maybe they'd stop and go away-

"Edward!! STOP!"

The crowd's cheer turned into screams. Some backed away from the stage.

"WHAT?! MY EYES?!" Ed clawed at his eyes. It did not matter that it hurt like hell, as long as it got everyone off his back. Everyone, yes, including his brother.

"NO!! ED!!"

The noise around him changed into screams of terror, and Ed distantly heard a door slamming open and shuffling feet away from him.

But these four-five-four excluding the sobbing blonde on the floor- didn't go away.

"IS IT MY FUCKING BODY?!" shouted Edward, splattering blood on the floor as he snapped his bloody hands away from his now ragged face.

"BROTHER!! STOP!!!" He felt arms wrap around him, successfully trapping him. He was trapped. He was- "LET ME GO!! I'M NOT GAY!! I'M NOT-I'M JUST-"

"You're not!! You're not!!" Feury panicked, and moved to help Alphonse, but instead got kicked in the face as Edward nimbly somersaulted away, still carrying Al around him like a rag doll.

"LIES!! THEY'RE ALL LIES!!" Mustang winced at the volume of Ed's voice. He could see the boy start to foam at his mouth. "I'M NOT A GIRL!! I'M NOT G-"

Ed felt his breath hitch. Not good. Not good at all, not when _they_ were surrounding him like wolves did to a piece of fresh meat. "SO WHAT IF I DON'T-DON'T _KNOW_?! SO WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE _ANYONE_?! SO WHAT IF I DO?! WHAT IF-"

Ed shuddered suddenly. Bad thoughts. What thoughts were they? He didn't even know. But they were bad.

"I'M NOT-" A column. He could bang his head to clear his mind. Oh, he was already doing it. And it hurt. Good. It pushed away the dirt-

"STOP, BROTHER!!" Alphonse screamed in horror, and tried in vain to get Edward away from the structure.

"GET OFF!!" Ed screamed at his captor, and when the other's grip became loose in shock, Ed kicked him further away. "I'M NOT- LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

_Bang_

Everyone stopped moving. Ed let his eyes wander to the blonde woman, who was holding her gun up and looking scared even as she did. Why did she look scared? No, she didn't have any reason to be, not like him. She was pretending. Pretending to be scared so the others could catch him. No, he wouldn't let that happen to him. He was going to take the chance. Run. Run.

_Run_.

"Wait!" shouted Mustang, himself still dazed from the gunshot. "No!! Stop!! Edward!!"

* * *

Edward staggered through darkened streets, aimlessly wandering around as he tried to get a hold on his walking so he could perhaps head towards his apartment. If he could remember where he was. Where was he? He didn't know. What was he? Now that was a different question. Or was it?

He felt a presence behind him. "Hey, pretty young lady-"

Shivers ran down Ed's spine. Another one of _them_. He turned around, facing the light, and pounced at the figure in front of him. "I'm not-!!"

The man only had time to shout out: "Holy _shit_!!" before Ed's automail made contact with his skull.

_Scrunch_

The man stumbled down, and Ed could almost see the light in his eyes dim before he hit the ground.

He murdered someone.

Something else snapped in him. What was it? He didn't know. Why did he do it?

"I-I-I-I-I-"

"Someone help!!! That kid's just killed-!!" A shrill voice rang into the blur of his mind, and Ed snapped his attention at the invading person.

"I'm not-" He wasn't. He didn't. "I'm not a g-" wait, she didn't say he was a girl, did he have to hit her? She was a girl. Boys don't hit girls. Was he a girl? Did that make it fair?

"Help!!!"

He wasn't a girl. He was a boy. He wasn't a-a-g-gu-gi-

"I'm not a b- b-boy…?" Ed felt his mind crumbling down. The words didn't make sense any more. "I'm not- a gir-girl-"

"I'm not-" Ed shook his head. "No!! I'm not-!!"

"Edward!! Stop!!" Ed looked away from the girl scared shitless. It was that four again. No wait, it was three. Two was missing. Four minus two was five…?

He had to get away. He looked around. When had he come to a bridge? The girl was gone. Where had she gone? She'd lured him into a trap. Kill her later.

"Get away from me!!"

The betrayer was there as well. The gun. The red. The black-two blacks. Was he hallucinating? "Ed!! _Stop_- please!!"

"I'm- I- Am- am I-" He shook his head. Clear the mind. Pick up the pieces. "Not- what- no- "

Alphonse could see the blocked wheels starting to turn again. It was a good sign. "Ed!!"

"I-I-I-I-I-"

"Ed, _please_, let's just go home-" begged Al, stepping forward carefully. "I promise we'll never- never- _ever again_- Ed- _please. Please._"

Ed flinched, but didn't move away any more. Not that he had anywhere to go. "I'm- I- " Al saw Edward stagger dangerously against the rails. They had to get him away from the edge.

Ed's eyes widened. He-he'd- what had he- what was going on- Al-Al betrayed- _they_- who were 'they'? He was a girl- a boy? What defined it? Def-don't-judge- Did he kill? Yes. Did he k- the man d-died- he- d- dead-

Ed leaned heavily on the rails. He noticed that his mouth was moving, spewing out words that didn't even cross his mind. Intelligent words. "I don't want to live-"

The railings gave away.

"Ed!!!"

The last thing Ed saw was Alphonse, his crying face distorted by the reddening water.

He distantly heard another splash as his body sank into blissful black. Then another.

Everything hurt.

His heart ached.

_

* * *

_

Knock-knock

Alphonse snapped out of his reverie. He stumbled to the door and opened it.

On the other side was Mustang, Hawkeye, and a fidgeting Havoc. He had his arm in a plaster. He looked like he didn't get a wink of sleep. Just like Ed had been, according to others' account.

Al moved aside to let them in, and they all settled on the couch, silently.

"How's… Ed?" ventured Roy, eyeing the door at the other end of the corridor.

Al bit his lips. "… The usual…"

They fell into silence again. This time they could hear faint mumblings throughout the house.

"I'm not… I'm not…" Roy clenched his teeth. "Why… why do you all…" Riza's hands twitched from her lap.

"I-I'm not…" Jean was looking worse every second. "I-I-I-"

The next thing Alphonse knew Jean appeared next to his legs, kneeling and sobbing.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry-" Jean sobbed pitifully, "I didn't-mean to-"

"None of us did," interrupted Roy, moving to help Jean up, "we're sorry, Alphonse."

"It's alright…" replied Alphonse automatically. He looked at the man, the pitiful man underneath the title of lieute-no, captain, still sobbing and begging forgiveness. Al felt a sudden surge of anger. "… No… who am I kidding, it's _not_ alright, it's everything _but_ alright!!" he shouted, startling everyone in the room.

Riza got up. "Alphonse-"

"I'm sorry!" Jean continued to sob.

Alphonse felt his pent-up anger rise dangerously, and grabbed the front of Jean's shirt. "It's all your fault!! You guys and all your damn pranks and jokes and-" Al's voice cracked, "he's-"

Alphonse broke down.

"He d-doesn't even see me-eeee-"

"Alphonse…" Roy laid a hand on Al's shoulder, to try to calm the boy down.

"I can't ev-even g-get him to d-drink water!!" screamed Al, trying to throttle the sobbing man. "He'll _die_!! Dehydration or starvation!! Whichever comes first!!"

"It's all your fault!!"

Jean didn't stop sobbing. "I'm sorry-I'm sorry-!!"

"It's all…" Al leant down, dragging Jean with him, "I- why did I-"

"I'm sorry-" the tear stains on the clothes became bigger and bigger. "I'm really-"

Al threw his arms around Jean, sobbing into the other man's shirt. "I'm sorry…" he sobbed, "I'm sorry…"

Jean didn't move away, still crying. "I'm sorry…" Riza felt like a child, unable to do anything. She grabbed onto Roy's sleeve.

"I'm sorry…"

Roy's eyes wandered towards the door at the end of the corridor.

* * *

In the room, the dark, cushioned room, Edward rocked back and forth, mumbling nonsense under his breath.

"I'm not-" he said, not even knowing why he was saying it, "I'm not- I'm not- I'm not- I'm not- I'm not-"

A single line of tear appeared on Ed's cheek.

"… Am I…?"

A single drop of tear landed on the floor.

* * *

**Just something that a reviewer suggested to me while writing HPFMA Unusual Arrangements. I never thought about it, and then I did, and this is the result. I just had IBT done like 30 minutes ago, and I finished writing just before I went to take the test. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah screw everything. I got used to writing small chapters in HPFMA that it hurt like hell for me to write this chapter up to the original length. Hahahahahahahah.... .... damn it, it's like 13 pages and it's still the same words amount than the story before!! D: If not less. ARGH. It used to be okay with 9 pages... *sob* where did all my writing go? ... *finished adding AN* ... OH. NOW it's 6000. ... well 6001. Oh well. Hahahahahahah:D**

**(1) Japanese terms. Sorry. I don't have any other way to say it. Uke means bottom person in a male-homosexual relationship.**

**(2) Again, sorry for the japanese term. Tsundere is like .... like ... uhm... showing affection and covering it with sharp and bitter words...? Usually considered because of shyness.**

**(3) I don't own Ranma 1/2, which characters I used in this story. :D Ranma(Ranko in this case) is OOC. Don't mind her. I just used her body, not the mind. XD Akane toned down, though. we can't have Edward fly around via Akane Airlines. For people who have no idea what I'm talking about, it doesn't really matter. Think of them as random characters Ed met one day in this chapter. For people who know Viceoi from HPFMA, there you go. Juuuuuust treat them like Viceoi. :D**


	8. Dream

**Subject: Edward Elric**

**Input 8: Dream**

* * *

**Before you read, please note that this story is made to not make much sense - it was based on a dream, so there.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist or any of its franchise. I own a necklace and two small figurines, but that's about it. But I own the plot, … or the story, because I'm not sure if it has any plot.**

* * *

Edward opened his eyes to a dark, purple tinted room.

"Where am I?"

A girl with bushy brown hair glanced at him with a slight smile.

"You're awake, that's good. We can finally get out of here."

Ed blearily looked around. The room was clustered with piles of junk, varying from pieces of metal to unrecognizable blobs. In one corner there was an ominous looking metallic locker. There were more people than just he and the girl, though they didn't seem to be as confused. There was a man with dark skin, maybe an Ishbalan. The rest were children, and with his eyes still blurry he couldn't tell how many were there nor how any of them looked. The room had three windows that each took one whole wall of the room, but Ed couldn't see a door anywhere. He tried to look out the windows, but they seemed to be rather opaque - there were random colors of light shining through them and into the darkness of the room, keeping it less than pitch black, but they didn't have any recognizable shape to hope for any kind of rescue.

"Where… Where are we?" he asked the bushy haired girl, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up. "Who are you?"

She ignored him. "We have to find a way out of here - but we don't know where we are," she said to the rest of the group.

Ed rubbed his eyes harder. They didn't clear up. In fact, Edward was sure they were getting even more blurry. "Wait, who are you guys?"

The others ignored him as well. "Well, it's not like we're going to get anything done by sitting around here," said the man. The others seemed to agree.

Edward was tired of getting ignored. He stopped rubbing his eyes and decided to make do with how blurry they were. He glared -or rather, tried to- at the group of people before him, "You haven't answered me-"

"But how are we going to get out of here?" said a boy, cutting into Edward's sentence. Ed felt his patience wear thin.

"Answer me!" he shouted.

Suddenly a girl, or what he assumed was a girl, charged at him with surprising speed. Surprised, all Ed could do was block. He was even more surprised however, when the 'girl' didn't ram into him. Instead, she ran past him and into one of the windows, shattering it into a long, velveted hallway.

Edward, still shaken from the sudden attack, spoke first, only to be interrupted again. "What the fuck-"

"Are you okay?" asked the first girl, jumping next to the ram-girl. Now that he looked carefully, the ramming girl had some sort of an armor around her. A flimsy one that looked like it was made from scraps of metal from the purple room, but an armor nonetheless. The group moved out of the room, carefully sidestepping pieces of glasses. The hallway was devoid of any distractions, even of lights. It was kept lit however, in a bloody red tint. Edward moved forth from the group, numbly feeling the walls with his hands. That is, until the man ran by him, snatching his arm and dragging him into a sprint as well.

"Run!" someone yelled. Surprised, Ed looked back to see what they were running from. His eyes widened when a black hand almost snatched at his nose.

The Gate.

Ed's eyes snapped to where he remembered the two girls were. The bushy haired girl was nowhere to be seen. Edward could only assume that she was already gone from the world. The armored girl was getting shredded by the little arms, being dragged piece by piece into the unblinking eye of The Gate.

"Help me!" she yelled pitifully.

He jerked back, intending to run back to the girl - even though he knew she was probably lost as well - and save the girl from a fate worse than death. He was jerked back into running by the Ishbalan who was still, surprisingly, holding onto his arm.

"Let _go_!" Ed yelled. The man ignored him, as did everybody else who were running in front of them. Ed glanced back.

The girl's body was gone. "Noooo! Help me!" Her fear-struck eyes met his own for a second before that too was dissolved into thousands of black tendrils.

Just as quickly as he was pulled away, he stopped. Everybody had. He snatched his arm away from the Ishbalan man, glaring venomously at him. He knew he was being unreasonable; he probably couldn't have been able to save either of those girls- likely kill himself in the process. But to be as heartless as they?

"I think we outran it," said one of the boys, heaving a sigh of relief.

Ed narrowed his eyes at that. 'That' just now was The Gate's innards trying to snatch at them. No one could outrun The Gate. At least … that was what he thought until now. They all should have been dead. If not for the sacrifices of the two girls… Ed clenched his fists. And to have these - these _people_ who all looked totally ignorant of what just happened here?

He was about to make his anger known when the group, as they did so far, continued to ignore him and proceeded to move into another room. Edward stared at the back of he group, unsure whether to feel bewildered and angry or just exasperated at how thoroughly they ignored him. Suppressing a feral growl, he followed them. The doorway looked eerie, especially with how a single golden rose with an eye as a core seemed to stare down at him. The dim lighting and blood-red hallway made it look even more menacing, as if the eye was actually following him.

The room looked about as weird as the doorway. It seemed to be a greenhouse, but instead of beautiful and organized rows of flowers, it contained more of the freaky flowers like the on on the doorway. It turned for the worse when he stepped through the doorway, as all of the eyed roses turned to stare at him.

"What the-"

"Where are we now?" asked the Ishbalan man, cutting Edward off.

"It looks like some kind of a greenhouse," said another kid. The group started to disperse around the room, expertly avoiding looking at any of the eyed flora. "Maybe there's an exit here somewhere."

Edward was petrified. The flowers kept staring at him unblinkingly, and that made him tense up. In his experiences, eerie staring pair of eyes (or in this case, a whole greenhouse load of them) was always a surefire sign that something unpleasant would happen soon. Very soon.

And just as he thought it, pain bloomed in his back, spreading to his whole body from his spine. He collapsed into a heap. In the corner of his mind he registered that the flowers kept staring at him. In another corner of his mind he felt outraged that he was, for once, one of those who dies first at the start of a horror adventure. At yet another corner of his mind he wondered where the knife now stuck in his spine came from. The rest of his brain was kept busy registering the image of the person who had just stabbed him in the back. He let his head loll into place, revealing said person from head to toe.

It was a woman. Xingian, perhaps. She was skinny, with a simple purple Xingian shirt that hugged her form all in the right places and a pair of faded skinny jeans. Her face reminded him of a treacherous snake, gloating momentarily before it went for the kill. Sharp, tilted eyes looked down at him with an amused twinkle as her mouth, below the tiny nose, curved into a smile that made him expect a forked tongue slither out any moment. Her skin was pale like the moon, and the way she posed, how she looked like she was caressing herself… she looked like a Xingian statue he'd seen long ago. And as outrageous as it seemed, Edward felt a tug at his chest.

The corners of his eyes started to dim and darken. He felt his body shut down, organ by organ. And just before he felt his heart stop, Edward muttered:

"_Beautiful…_"

* * *

With a giant intake of breath, Edward woke up in the exact same room that he had woken up before. The dark purple tint was back, the claustrophobic walls and their giant windows that showed nothing but random lights were back too. The locker was still ominous, and everyone was still there looking confused.

Wait, what?

Edward did a double take at the bushy haired girl in front of him. "What the-"

She glanced at him with a slight smile. Her face was a bit out of focus, as was everybody else's in the room.

Just like last time.

"You're awake, that's good. We can finally get out of here."

"What happened? Why are we back here?" Edward stood up from the ground. He tried rubbing off whatever was blurring his eyes, when they settled on the metallic figure he was sure had been gone forever. "_You!_"

The flimsily armored girl glared back momentarily before she went back to ignoring him.

"We have to find a way out of here - but we don't know where we are," continued the bushy-haired girl, completely ignoring - or unaware of - the exchange between the two.

Edward was confused. The last he remembered was a Xingian woman standing before his - Ed's eyes widened - corpse. His corpse. He had died. In the hands of that … that woman. Embarrassment flowed into his head in red as he remembered what he'd said to her when he got killed. How stupid was he, saying, of all things, a compliment to his killer?

"Well, it's not like we're going to get anything done by sitting around here."

Edward shook his head, trying to focus on the situation at hand. So obviously he'd been killed, but how did he come back alive? Did The Gate have anything to do with it? Did the Truth? If that was true, that meant that they were currently inside The Gate itself, before the armored girl smashed them out of here. But she was soon consumed by The Gate - she didn't live. Then what was she doing here, with all of them?

Edward glanced back at the armored girl, and noticed that her armor wasn't really an armor, but rather big pieces of plastic and thin metal that he could guess were from an automobile. Of course that wouldn't protect her much from The Gate's claws.

"But how are we going to get out of here?"

Edward only had time to register where in his déjà-vu he was before the armored girl blurred past him, crashing through the window. The glass shattered, and time seemed to pass slower this time. Edward was not entranced by the velvety passage, but stayed back, looking at how the scenery changed in a blink of an eye into a highly decorated elevator doors opening. Ed looked around warily, as if to expect The Gate to appear any second. He slowly walked backwards of the room, which didn't look any different than before, and into the familiar hallway.

The first girl was again at the side of the armored girl who was groaning in pain. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Edward felt a chill up his spine. He didn't need to look back to see that the Gate had appeared. Running up to where the two girls had been left behind, Ed snatched the bushy-haired girl's arm for her attention.

"Run!" He yelled at her face.

Her eyes stayed blank, looking straight through him, as if she didn't hear a word he said.

Before Ed could do anything else the Ishbalan once again snatched him out of the Gate's tiny hands as they started to peel off everything around the Gate. The girls didn't even try to run as they were covered and shredded to pieces by the black tendrils, only then screaming for their lives.

"Noooo! Help me!"

Edward grit his teeth as he was once again pulled away from the screaming persons. The group stopped in front of the eerie doorway again, starting on their conversation again. By that time, Edward felt pretty sure that time had winded back, though he didn't know exactly why or how. He supposed it didn't matter at the moment. He looked at the gasping others, mildly surprised that he wasn't as tired as they. He looked back towards where the Gate swallowed the two girls. It was gone, and what was left was a shredded, half collapsed hallway leading to the innocently intact doors of the elevator. What he noticed of new was that there was another door, right next to the doorway of botanical doom. It was a normal wooden door, but didn't have a doorknob. He tried pushing it, and found that it didn't work. Edward frowned.

"I think we outran it," said one of the boys, heaving a sigh of relief.

Ed grit his teeth, biting back a snarky comment he could have made, which he was sure he would be ignored. Instead, he walked into the doorway first, staring heatedly at the one eye of the flower decoration on top of it.

"Where are we now?" Ed heard one of the boys ask. Edward's frown deepened. That was different from last time.

"It looks like some kind of a greenhouse," commented the Ishbalan man, opting to out-walk Edward to the front. Ed felt mildly appalled, but kept quiet. He stared into the eyed flowers that were all staring at him, leaving the others to walk past him deeper into the greenhouse.

"Maybe there's an exit here somewhere," said one of the kids. Some of the flowers turned away from Ed's stare to stare intently at the new group of people as if they didn't notice the humans rummaging around before. Most of the flowers stayed staring into his eyes, and Ed could swear that their eyes actually looked curious. Some even seemed to tilt slightly to the side in a questioning motion.

Then suddenly all of the flowers snapped to the side, staring at their left. Ed followed their line of 'sight', and gasped at what he saw.

"What-" In the blink of an eye, a kid, a boy with a cap, had his arm eaten by a bush. The waterlilies that were attached to the bush were opening up to reveal several long tubes that started to implant themselves onto the rest of the boy's body.

Edward, surprised, took a brief moment to understand how the room was suddenly filled with screams and pleas. His eyes looked frantically around the room, finding one body struggling to live after another.

"Help!" - one of the children - a girl - had a thick layer of vine wrapped around her head, her barely visible mouth gasped in pain as her head was slowly crushed to a mush.

"The tree's got me!" - another boy was struggling to fight the roots of a tree stump as it tried to drag him into the hollow of its bark. Ed could see the remains of the Ishbalan man's lower half hanging out of said hollow, a putrid smoke wafting up as the acid inside digested the corpse. "They're eating me!"

"Help!"

Edward, despite all the screaming despair around him, decidedly felt calmer and calmer. He looked back at the eyed roses. They were not staring at anything. In fact, they were moving slowly in every which way, looking at everything but Ed. He turned to the doorway to the velvet hallway, and remembered how he died. Who had killed him.

Anger, fear and another emotion he wasn't sure he approved of welled inside him, and he slowly stalked his way into a thick group of dandelion stalks, noticing and picking up a kitchen knife that was conveniently placed on the ground. When he snuck out of the stalks the woman was there, gently looking around in a confused daze, clearly looking for someone. Edward felt the corners of his mouth twitching upwards in a small smile, turning them down again in disapproval as he snuck behind his prey. He barely registered that the eye roses were back to staring at him as he wrapped his arms around the woman's arms and waist in an awkward hug. Mildly frustrated that his body wasn't willing to do much harm to her even though his mind very much wanted to, he gently kicked at the back of her knees to bend down to his … height. Not that he was small. Ed readjusted his grip on the knife and pressed it high up on the woman's neck.

"Gotcha." Ed smirked. Smirked, not smiled. It was not a smile. He pretended not to hear the sliver of affection in his voice as he imagined his enemy to be frightened at how easily Ed caught her red handed.

She, however, wasn't quite trembling in fear.

"My, my. Aren't you quick to learn?" asked she, her melodious laugh shaking Ed's insides from top to bottom, making his legs go weak. He shook his head, bared his teeth and pressed his knife harder at her throat, cutting a small line of red.

"Let them go." he growled quietly. He felt himself relax into her back. He wasn't comfortable with that.

The Xingese woman snorted and looked over her shoulder with a sly, sexy look. Ed felt his arms go weak, the knife in his hand suddenly weighing a ton. "Or what? You realize, don't you? This isn't real. They're not real." She leant slightly back. "I'm not real, either. At least, to you."

"Let them go." Ed stated stubbornly. She may not have heard him, after how he mumbled it into her shoulder, enjoying her scent as he nuzzled her. He felt so comfortable, having her in his arms… that it was disturbing.

At some point Ed let the arm with the knife fall to his side, still pointing at her heart between her ribcage to stab if she still tried something. It was a weird feeling, trusting completely in someone but at the same time knowing that they will kill you the moment you fall for her charms.

She looked down at how firm Ed's hand was at her vital point, and smiled. Ed felt her arms snake around him, the knife at her hand skirting towards his spine. Ed shuddered, and hoped that she'd get it over and done with so that he wouldn't feel like this anymore.

Pain seared from his spine, electricity coursed through his veins, his limbs spasmed away from her body, sparks flew in front of his eyes. He fell on his nose, crushing it. As the world became darker, a soft, cold hand lifted his head up.

"I think I like you, Alchemist. Perhaps even love you."

Ed fruitlessly struggled to keep the smile off his face. She was such a tease.

Edward hoped, as he laid dying amidst pained screams of the others, that this would be the end, and that he wouldn't have to see her again… and possibly kill her.

He also knew by his heart that it wouldn't be possible.

But for the moment, ... Edward felt love.

* * *

Edward opened his eyes. The familiar view of the dark purple tinted room greeted him once again. He didn't need to look around anymore. He knew what was there, what would happen. He also knew what he would have to do to get out of this unending nightmare. He glanced at his side, and saw the kitchen knife he'd recovered from the greenhouse. He didn't know how it came back in time with him, but it didn't matter. He knew what was going to happen, and he would be prepared.

Now if only he didn't feel so sad about it …

"You're awake, that's good. We can finally get out of here."

He ignored the girl. Instead, he shifted away from the group, towards the window that would be broken any time soon.

"We have to find a way out of here - but we don't know where we are."

_'I do,'_ he would say, though he didn't. Edward absently ran a finger down the knife's blade, remembering it cut through the perfectly pale skin.

"Well, it's not like we're going to get anything done by sitting around here.

_'Damn right.'_ Ed didn't look up, and he didn't need to to feel the intent stares from all of the people in the room. They weren't real, as … _she_, said in his previous… life. It dawned on Ed that he didn't even know her name. He supposed it wouldn't matter; neither of them wanted the murder of each other become any more personal than it had. … Or will be. Ed felt his heart wane in pain. He was going to kill her.

"But how are we going to get out of here?"

Ed finally looked up, looking at all those pairs of eyes staring right back at him. What were they? Who were they? Why were they in front of him? He didn't know.

And he knew he didn't care.

At that moment, the armor girl dashed towards the mirror, jumping head first into the pane of glass. The same thing happened. The elevator doors opened, the bushy haired girl ran to attend to the armor girl. The others stepped out, in wonder of the velveted hallway.

Not him.

Edward gripped hard on the knife's handle, leapt out of the broken window, and started running towards the garden's doorway. Instantly, the Gate opened and started to grab at everything it could reach. The bodies of the people he was just with started to crumble down, their voices cracking into unnatural pitches. They screamed and screamed, their voice morphing into something not unlike that of a chimera.

"Where are you going?"

"Come back!"

"Aaaaah!"

"Run!"

"Noooo! Help me!"

Ed didn't look back; his gut told him he'd pay dearly if he did. Edward risked a glance behind him, and found that was was quite a ways before the Gate's tendrils. He dashed to the wooden door next to the garden doorway. He slid open the door as if it were the most natural thing in the world, slipped in just in time as Gate devoured the greenhouse. Ed thought he saw the golden eye rose on the doorway tear up in pain just before he closed the door.

Out of immediate trouble, Edward looked around the room. It was a hotel room, a high quality one at that. The carpet was lush and comfortable, with a queen-sized double bed sitting in the middle of it. There was a small table at the side, along with two armchairs, facing each other as the night sky was hidden by the thick curtains on the window. The bedside tables were furnished with small lamps, turned on dimly as they set the drowsy atmosphere of the room. On the other side of the room had a big dresser, with one bathrobe and slippers. Next to the door Ed came in was another door, this one with a doorknob, which Ed assumed as the bathroom.

A soft click sounded from behind him, and Edward jumped away from the door, positioning the knife between him and the Xingian woman who just entered. She held herself exactly like she had when he'd first seen her, and Edward had to stop himself from lowering his weapon once again.

She glided towards him, her thin, delicate hand twirling a butterfly knife as she did so. "You are a very quick learner. Most people take about six times the experience to find this place."

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Ed demanded.

She smiled that snake-like smile, tapping the tip of her knife on her cheek as she did so. "Straight to the point, too. Refreshing."

Then her smile turned slightly sad. "But you die now," she said.

Edward was at her back, in a similar position as he had been last time. This time, though, he had the proper grip on her arms, a safe distance away from her alluring aura, and still the knife pressed to her throat.

"You wish."

Her face turned into shock when she realized she was unarmed, pinned and at his mercy before she could even move. "What-how-"

"I am a prodigy, you know," he said, looking into the mirror that he didn't notice until now. She looked beautiful.

There was a moment of silence before the Xingian woman broke it with a short, shocked laugh. "Ahah."

Ed didn't move.

She let out a chuckle, then looked through the mirror straight into his eyes. Hers were yellow as well, though compared to his, hers seemed more like an animalistic yellow.

"You are… the most _interesting_ subject I've met so far, Marco," she said, her head leaning slightly into the crook of his arm with the knife at her throat. He jerked away, and she looked slightly hurt, though it disappeared in an instant.

"That's… not my name." He muttered. For some reason that made him … disappointed.

"I know, _Edward_," she grinned the snake-like grin.

Ed snarled in irritation and jerked the knife higher up her throat. "What are you playing at! What do you want from me?"

And in a whirl of wind, he was suddenly atop her, straddling her waist while still holding the knife at her throat. Still confused at what happened, Ed was pulled down by the woman into a chaste kiss. It was sweet, mesmerizing, and it rubbed everything from his mind. It felt like an eternity in seconds, as she pulled away some moments later, leaving him wanting more.

"Kill me," she said.

Ed blinked, shook his head and pressed just a bit more on her throat. "Keep it up and I just might." Her blood shone black in the dim light of the room, but it was still a beautiful contrast against her pale skin.

"Kill me," she said once again. She was looking straight into his eyes. She wasn't pleading, she wasn't ordering. She just said it, as if she were stating a fact. It angered him, it frustrated him… It saddened him.

Edward leant down, leaning his forehead on her chin as he felt his arms tremble. The knife was still cutting her throat, unmoving as much as he wanted to - and not. "I love you," he pleaded, hoping she would get the _'Please don't do this to me.'_ under the words.

Her eyes softened, and her lips curved into a small smile.

"Kill me."

Ed saw a flash of metal at the corner of his eye, and moved his arm.

There was a sudden spurt of blood, and her head lolled to the side, face contorted in horror. Her hand held her butterfly knife, poised to strike him. Ed felt his eyes welling up with tears.

"If… If I hadn't killed you… you would have killed me, wouldn't you?" he muttered.

Her face looked horrified. She wasn't like that moments before. It was his fault.

But he didn't regret it.

Ed leant down and pressed his lips on her cheek.

"I love you."

Ed heard a gasp above him. He snapped up his head, crawling off the corpse with the knife at ready for any kind of an attack.

It was a giant man. A bald, white man, giant like a bear… he reminded Ed of Gluttony. And he was… crying.

Tears flowed down like small rivers, making small noises as they hit the top of a large chest he was holding.

It didn't look like he was about to move any time soon. The man had seen him, and yet he didn't go into a fit of rage. Ed figured that he was the woman's… parter, he supposed, seeing how affected he was by her death. And she was about to kill him if he hadn't killed her. So that chest was for…

"Give me that," said Edward.

The man nodded tearfully, coming into the room and placing the chest at the foot of the bed.

Edward picked the woman and started to stuff her into the box. Her body was lax and he folded her body every which way to get her in there. While he was doing so, the other man had kneeled down next to him, still weeping silently.

"Did you love her?" asked Ed abruptly. He didn't get an answer. "I did," he said. He could feel the tears threatening to come out. Ed blinked furiously. He didn't need this right now.

He didn't need this _period_.

Just as he was about to close the lid however, his eyes went to her horrified face once again. Ed felt like he should do something about it… lest she wasn't fully dead and somehow come back to haunt him. With his luck, it would happen. He turned to the man.

"I'm going to put my arms in there. Keep it closed, will you? Close it off as soon as I take my arms out."

The huge man nodded, obediently holding down the lid on the corpse as Edward picked up his knife and put both his arms inside. He had to do what he had to do, but he didn't want to look at what her face may look like when he did it.

He felt around and found where he had originally cut, and started sawing at it with his knife. It was disrespectful, it was disgusting, it was in every ways wrong, but he felt like he had to do it. The giant didn't say anything, for one matter.

After the deed was done, Edward slipped his hands out of the chest. The giant quickly closed the lid. Ed placed the bloody knife on top of the lid and clapped. The knife was gone, buried seamlessly in the chest's wood.

He felt tears finally roll down his cheeks. He hefted up the chest, wincing when something thudded at the side of the chest.

He handed it to the giant. "Get rid of her. Burn it, throw it into the river, I don't care. Just don't bury it."

The giant man looked at him blankly for a moment, as if he wanted to ask if Ed was crazy, then nodded, and walked out of the room.

Only then Ed allowed himself to cry.

* * *

Alarm rang besides his bed.

Ed reached his hand over to the side and turned it off.

He still laid there, tears flowing from both eyes into his pillow, soaking it uncomfortably wet. For once he didn't want to get up at all. He contemplated the thought of calling in sick for work. He knew it was ridiculous, but he wanted to have a day, a morning, an hour, at least, mourning over the death of whom he loved, in a twisted way, even if it were just a dream.

He loved her and still he killed her.

He killed her and still he loved her.

Ed coughed out a weak laugh. And he didn't even know her name.

* * *

**That's it, folks. It's been awhile.  
**

**I know it doesn't make sense. I know usually someone doesn't fall in love with someone who wants to kill them. And vice versa. And I know some people don't take their dreams as seriously as I do.**

**Yes, this was my dream I based it on. I was in Ed's place the whole time, which made this whole dream even more awkward. I also can say that what I felt there may not be love, but I know definitely it wasn't just a crush, nor was it lust. I was really feeling two conflicting emotions … what I thought to be love, and hate. The hate probably came from how I thought I needed to survive the whole twisted situation and how she was in my way. I don't know where the 'love' came from, but it was there. I really felt like I did when one of my relatives died years ago, so I assumed it was love, no matter how weird it sounds.**

**So… this story is my dream, with only the names of some races changed around to fit FMA. I had the Gate chase me through the hallway too, but instead of a chest I had an icebox to work with, so I just left the knife in one of the compartments it had before taking my arms out. But FMA world doesn't have that, does it? So obviously I had to change it. Also, the armored girl actually had pieces of a motorcycle stuck to her body for some reason, but then I thought it would be too ridiculous given the situation, so I changed it into an armor.**

**Mrawgirl09**


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